


Killer Instinct: The Story

by moviefan_92



Category: Killer Instinct (Video Games)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Aliens, Androids, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Betrayal, Boxers, Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Contests, Cyborgs, Demons, Developing Friendships, Dinosaurs, Drama, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Drama, Fights, Friendship, Gen, Gods, Heavy Angst, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrids, Indian Character, Light Angst, Mad Science, Martial Arts, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutant Powers, Mutants, Native American Character(s), Ninja, Partnership, Raptors, Robotics, Robots, Science, Science Experiments, Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Skeletons, Spies & Secret Agents, Supernatural Elements, Survival, Tournaments, Tragedy, Velociraptors, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 09:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 27
Words: 44,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17077523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moviefan_92/pseuds/moviefan_92
Summary: A story version of the game, featuring the Killer Instinct fighters working their way to be number one in the tournament. Story revolves around Jago and his determination to defeat the evil within Ultratech’s walls.Adventure/Sci-fi/Supernatural/Drama/Angst/Hurt & Comfort/Tragedy. Rated for violent fight scenes.STORY COMPLETE





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> (A/N: If the game was ever made into a movie or book, this is how I believe it may go. Hope you like it.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Originally posted on 08/28/06 - 02/27/07 at: _<https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3128906/1/Killer-Instinct-The-Story>_**

 

 

**" KILLER INSTINCT: THE STORY"**

**Prologue**

_A wind-swept battlefield of the distant past, littered with the debris of war. Above the moans and cries of the defeated can still be heard the clashing sounds of a single titanic confrontation. Two great warlords, leaders of their now smashed armies, are locked in battle, with the world itself as the prize. But this epic battle is not to have a conclusion. Suddenly, the warlords were engulfed in a nimbus of light, and vanished from the face of the earth, banished to the realm of Limbo. The battle-weary heroes whose spell had trapped the warlords heaved a sigh of relief. Armageddon had been averted, for now._

_The world has seen much progress in the centuries since the warlords were banished, not all for good. Pollution has weakened the environment. Governments have fallen. Chaos rules, with a huge mega-corporations battling and destroying each other for shares of the world's wealth_

_In this bleak world, a single corporation, Ultratech, rises above the others. Rather than joining in direct battles with their competitors, Ultratech has profited from their suffering by selling them the very weapons they use against each other. Sales of weaponry are not the only source of profit for Ultratech, however. Their entertainment division produces the top rated television broadcast of the future, the Killer Instinct tournament, which also serves as a testing ground for Ultratech's weapons. The winners of the tournament are promised whatever they desire. The losers suffer a significantly poorer fate._

_It is into this bloody contest that our heroes have been drawn. T.J. Combo, a disgraced heavyweight champion of the world who seeks redemption. Glacius, a captured alien, fighting for his life and a chance to escape. And the deadly robot Fulgore, programmed by Ultratech with a Killer Instinct and the freedom to use it. Each fights for his or her life own reasons, but each has the same goal: win the tournament and destroy all opponents._

_It will take more than radical moves and deadly special attacks to win this tournament. It will take a will, a desire; it will take a Killer Instinct._

_T.J. Combo was once the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world for five years straight. He was stripped of his title for his brutal methods of punishing opponents. He now fights to regain his fame and fortune._

_A prototype cybernetic soldier developed by Ultratech, Fulgore was entered into the Killer Instinct tournament as a final test of its combat capabilities. Once its abilities are proven, mass production will begin._

_Jago is a mysterious warrior monk from a remote region of Tibet. Guided by the powerful Tiger Spirit to seek his destiny, he has been lead to the Killer Instinct tournament to destroy the evil within._

_B. Orchid is a secret agent, sent by an unknown group to investigate the mysterious disappearances that surround the Killer Instinct tournament. Her true identity and abilities are shrouded in secrecy._

_Mystical defender of Native American people, Chief Thunder enters the Killer Instinct tournament to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of his brother, Eagle, in the previous year's tournament._

_Spinal's origin is a closely guarded secret of Ultratech. A secret branch of the corporation, using a variety of special techniques, have succeeded in reviving an ancient warrior. With only the vaguest memories of his past life, Spinal knows how to do one thing; fight!_

_Riptor is a product of Ultratech's DNA Manipulation Project. By splicing human and reptilian genes, they have created a fighting creature with animal ferocity and human intelligence._

_Sabrewulf is afflicted with the rare disease, Lycanthropy. Although he has spent most of his life as a recluse, he enters the Killer Instinct tournament on the promise of a cure if he is victorious._

_Glacius ia an alien being from a distant planet. When his spaceship crash landed on earth, he was captured by Ultratech. Hoping to prove these alien beings to be inferior, Ultratech forces him to fight for his life in the Killer Instinct tournament._

_Cinder was a convicted criminal who agreed to participate in Ultratech's chemical weapons test in exchange for early parole. A failed experiment turned him into a being of living flame. He has now been offered freedom if he can defeat Glacius in the Killer Instinct tournament._

_Eyedol is Ultratech's trump card. Eyedol if one of the warlords that Ultratech's scientists snatched out of Limbo to do battle with the finalist in this year's Killer Instinct tournament. Little did they realize what king of power they were releasing when they set Eyedol free from his magical prison…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: I know this whole thing is included in the "Killer Instinct" game manual, but I thought it was necessary to put in for the prologue. The actual story will be starting soon.)


	2. The Contestants

**Chapter 1: The Contestants**

The Tiger Spirit had led Jago here. Where was here? Why it was none other than the Ultratech's base where the Killer Instinct tournament was held. Here he would fight in the tournament to face the ultimate evil. The only downside was that he would be forced to kill other innocents in the tournament until he reached this evil.

Then again, perhaps they weren't all that innocent. They were wiling to kill for their own greed. But wasn't that what Jago was doing? No, Jago had to do this. The fate of the world was at stake. As much as he hated killing, he would have to in order to defeat the evil.

Jago had no selfish reasons for entering the tournament. The winner was promised whatever they wanted, as long as it was in Ultratech's power to give. But Jago's only reason for entering was to defeat the evil. He could care less about what Ultratech could give him.

The two men leading Jago down the hall brought him to the main office. It was here that the president of Ultratech stayed. His own private room.

One of the men knocked on the door before opening it. "Dr. Chambers? The last contestant is here to see you."

Dr. Chambers, a short bald man, looked up at the newcomers and smiled. "Ah yes, thank you. Please, sit down." Jago remained where he was. Dr. Chambers shrugged. "Or remain standing if you wish." He looked at the 2 men standing behind Jago. "You may go."

The 2 men nodded and left the room. Dr. Chambers looked Jago up and down. "So, what is your reason for entering our tournament?"

Jago wasn't about to let perhaps most powerful man in the world in on his ways of life. "My reasons are my own." he said. His voice was a little muffled from his mask.

Dr. Chambers nodded. "Fair enough. But I hope you realize the danger you put yourself in. Ultratech will not be responsible for any injuries you may, and most likely, will receive."

Jago nodded in understanding. "I did not expect you to be. A person is responsible for his own injuries. If you let your guard down, you're bound to get hurt."

Dr. Chambers smiled. This Jago was a true fighter. He would be great in the tournament. "Very good way of thinking. Now tell me, what do you desire if you are victories?"

Jago crossed his arms. "I expect nothing for my victories. I fight for my own reasons, and there is nothing you can give me that I want."

Dr. Chambers cocked his head to the side, curious as to why Jago would risk his life for no reason. Crazy ninja. But it didn't matter, he would never win, not with Ultratech's secret weapon.

"Very well." said Dr. Chambers. "Just so you know, there is a fight once a month. The tournament lasts for 10 months. This facility will be your home during this time. You may not leave here until the tournament is over. Do you understand these conditions?" Jago nodded. "Good, you may now go in the contestant's chamber with your fellow fighters. The first fight will be on the 18th."

He returned to whatever he was doing before Jago entered the room. His 2 escorts brought him down the hall to where the other contestants stayed.

"Each of you has your own private room." One of the men explained. "Each room is complete with a bed and bathroom. All rooms are connected to the common room. You may stay in there if you do not wish to stay in your room. There is also a gym you may train in that is open to you 24/7."

Jago merely nodded at everything the man said. He was in no mood for talking. The man opened the door for Jago. He walked in and stopped in his tracks as he saw the other fighters. He knew there would be other contestants, but he never expected what he saw.

The first person that caught Jago's attention was more along the lines of what he was expecting. A big black man in a boxer's uniform. He was extremely muscular. Jago knew that this man was much stronger then him. He also knew who he was. T.J. Combo, former heavyweight champion of the world. Jago wasn't exactly surprised that this man was here.

What he saw next was startling. At first he thought that the man was on fire, but then he realized that the man  _was_  fire. How this was possible, Jago did not know, but he knew that he would need to be careful if he was to face this man.

The next person he saw was a skeleton. But not a dead one. This skeleton was alive. It was moving around anxiously, as if it didn't know what to do with itself.

The fourth person was the only woman in the room. She was rather attractive too. Her skin tight green suit made her look like a female superhero. Her face was a cold emotionless mask. Jago could tell by her eyes that she was a fighter, and one that had seen death.

Standing close by, sniffing the woman out was a dinosaur. Somehow, after being extinct for 65 million years, there was a dinosaur standing in the room. Jago wondered why it wasn't attacking anyone since it was obviously a carnivore.

Contestant number six was a rather muscular man, though not quite as muscular as Combo. He was dressed as an Indian, but what would an Indian be doing here?

After being surprised by seeing a man of fire, Jago was also surprised to see and man of ice. He seemed to be a perfect ice sculpture, but he was alive all the same.

Heavy footsteps brought Jago's attention to the next contestant. This one wasn't even a person or an animal. It was a robot of some sort. And it looked built for fighting.

The last person was the only person who didn't seem fit for fighting. He looked just like your ordinary everyday man. He still seemed confidant all the same. And he surprised Jago by approaching him.

"Hello, I'm James Simmons." he said. "But my code name for this tournament is Sabrewulf. Nice to meet you."

Jago cautiously shook the man's hand. "Hello James, I'm Jago."

James smiled. "Nice to meet you Jago. And I would prefer it if you called me Sabrewulf."

Jago raised an eyebrow. "Why did you choose Sabrewulf?"

Sabrewulf's smile faded. "I… well… you'll find out. But now that were all here, let's get to know everyone a bit."

There were some snorts of disgust and some groans of annoyance from the other contestants.

"Oh come on guys!" said Saberwulf cheerfully. "If we're going to be living together for the next 10 months, we should at least get to know each other. Here, I'll go first. My name is James Simmons, but I would prefer it if you called me by my code name, Sabrewulf."

"And what exactly are you doing here?" asked the fire man. "You don't exactly look like a fighter."

Sabrewulf grinned sheepishly. "Maybe not now, but I can be quite dangerous at times. And the reason I entered this tournament is because I have a rare disease that Ultratech will give me the cure for if I win."

The others waited for him to continue, but he said nothing more.

"So what disease do you have?" the fire man asked.

Sabrewulf shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, Lycanthropy…"

Jago unconsciously took a step back as did the others. This man had Lycanthropy. He was a werewolf!

Sabrewulf smiled nervously. "Don't worry, I won't bite. Not now anyway." He looked back at the fire man. "So what's your story Flames?"

The fire man was taken aback at the name. "The name's Cinder. I was sentenced to life in prison. But thanks to Ultratech, I was let out. The only catch was that I had to be a science experiment for them, which resulted in me ending up like this. But they said they would cure me if I can beat Glacius."

He eyed the ice man who glared back at Cinder. Sabrewulf looked at the one that he believed to be this Glacus.

"I take it you're this Glacius?" he said.

"I am." the ice man replied. His voice was harsh, barely above a whisper. "But I had no intention of fighting in this tournament. I am from another world. I crash landed here and was captured by Ultratech's men. They say they'll release me if I win the tournament."

Jago felt sorry for the alien. No one should be forced to fight for their life like this against their will. He put the thought aside though. If he would be forced to face these people, he had to think of them as his enemies.

"I go next." said the Indian, talking with an accent. "I Chief Thunder. My brother come here last year and not come back. I come to see what happen to him. So I enter tournament to find out."

Jago knew what had happened, and he was surprised that Thunder couldn't figure out. If his brother hadn't won the tournament, it could only mean that he was dead.

Thunder turned to the skeleton. "Why you fight, bone man?"

The skeleton spoke, but his voice sounded more like breathing than him actually speaking. "I am Spinal. I was a noble warrior many years ago. I was reanimated by Ultratech. I do not remember anything about my past, but Dr. Chambers said that if I win the tournament they will give me back my memories." He looked around the room. "'Much has changed since I died. The progress humanity has made is incredible. Never would I have thought that we would be capable of creating something such as him."

He pointed to the robot, who proceeded to introduce himself. "I am Fulgore, Ultratech's greatest creation." it said. "This tournament is but a test for my skills. Once I prove my capabilities, mass production shall begin."

The woman spoke for the first time. "Ultratech is bent on ruling the world." she said. "This is where I come in. The name's Orchid. I'm a secret agent sent to investigate what goes on here. Once I complete the tournament and return to my society, we'll be able to shut Ultratech down for good."

Jago respected that. "Then you and I have a similar mission." he said. "There is a great evil that lurks within these walls. I have come here to destroy it once and for all."

He and Orchid locked eyes. Jago could feel the mysterious woman examining him. He wouldn't mind getting to know her some more. After all, 10 months was a long time, if they both survived of course. His thought were interrupted by Combo.

"Very noble of you boy." He had a very deep voice. "But I'm going to win this tournament to get my title back. And I'll crush all of you to do so."

Jago looked around the room. So, that was everyone. Everyone except…

"Who's dino-boy?" he asked.

The others turned to the dinosaur.

"No one knows what's up with him." said Sabrewulf. "All we know is that his name's Riptor. He sure ain't an ordinary dinosaur though."

Riptor hissed at them and stalked off. It seemed to have understood what they were saying. Perhaps there was more to this creature than meets the eyes.

Jago looked around at the contestants. He did a quick sum in his head. Something was missing. If there was going to be a fight every month for 10 months, then there should be one more contestant. So where were they?


	3. A Battle of Teeth and Claws

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: The first fight. Hope you like it.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 2: A Battle of Teeth and Claws**

The next week was spent preparing for the first match. No one knew who would be fighting who, or when they would fight, so everyone was on their toes. For the most part, everyone kept to themselves. Jago and Thunder would spend much time meditating, Orchid and Glacius snooped around a lot, Orchid was searching for any useful information while Glacius tried to find a way to escape, Riptor sniffed around the other fighters, Fulgore seemed to be scanning the other fighters, Combo spent much time in the gym, and Spinal, Cinder, and Sabrewulf seemed to be rather bored. They were all still strangers to one another. No one seemed to want to get to know anyone else since they would be fighting to the deaths in the upcoming battle.

Jago reached out with his senses. He could feel what the other contestants were feeling. Some were poor innocents that had their reasons for fighting, while others were fighting for their own selfish greed. Riptor and Combo were the most selfish ones. They were fighting for their own gains. Cinder, Spinal, Sabrewulf, and Thunder were less selfish. They fought for their own reasons. Sabrewulf and Cinder wanted a cure for their conditions while Thunder and Spinal were searching for answers they desperately seeked. Orchid and Jago were the most noble and selfless. They weren't fighting to gain anything. They fought to stop the evil in the world. While Orchid was attempting to stop Ultratech's evil plans and bring the company down once and for all, Jago was fighting to stop an evil even greater than anything the others could imagine. Fulgore and Glacius were caught in the middle. Fulgore was programmed to obey Ultratech's scientists and had no choice in the matter, while Glacius was being forced to fight against his will.

Jago tried to put these thoughts aside. If he gave into the knowledge that these people were innocent, it would only make it harder to kill them. Riptor and Combo would be easy to face. They were thinking of only there own gains and didn't care what it took to get it. While Jago was unsure of Riptor's intentions, he could sense the creature's dark thoughts and knew that they were nothing good. Cinder wouldn't be that hard to fight either. His intentions of fighting were not as selfish as the other two's, but he was not a good man.

Sabrewulf, Thunder, and Spinal would be more difficult to face. It wasn't because they were stronger or anything, it was because of their innocence. Sabrewulf was forced to turn into a raging monster every full moon and wanted it to stop. He was a good man who didn't want to hurt anyone. Thunder desperately wanted to know what happened to his brother. Jago could sense that he too was a good man, but was it worth killing to find his answer? Jago pitied Spinal. He had been reanimated as a soulless killer with no memories of his past life than knowing how to fight. For all Jago, knew Spinal could have been a good person as well.

Fulgore wouldn't be that hard for Jago to face. He, or it, was made for killing. It was a mindless machine that did what Ultratech told it to do without thought or reason. It would almost be like fighting Ultratech itself.

Orchid and Glacius would be the hardest to face. They were both pure of heart. Glacius wanted nothing to do with any of this, but was not being given a choice in the matter. And Orchid was fighting for the same reason as Jago; for good.

But the fighters' intentions would not be what determined the fate of the others. It would be who was the better fighter and who had the killer instinct. It was all up to fate. And if fate was kind, the deaths would be merciful and the evil would be vanquished, for good.

As the fighters waited in the main chambers, the doors opened as two men came in to lead them out.

"It's time," said the first man. "Come with us."

The contestants followed the two men through the facility. They entered a large room. The were cameras all around and a large fighting ring in the middle of the room. High in the air, in the box seats, sat Dr. Chambers with the other head officials of Ultratech.

Switching on the microphone, Dr. Chambers spoke to the contestants. "Good day fighters. I hope you're all ready for a fight. Allow me to explain how this will work. The Killer Instinct tournament will be playing live all over the world, so try to put on a good show. This is a fight to the death between the two in the ring. No one is to interfere, but you are free to watch the match and study the other contestants moves and strategies. The match contestants will be chosen at random. So let's start the roulette!"

On the screen over head, the fighters' names flashed across the screen. It stopped on the first name.  _Sabrewulf._

"And we have our first contestant." Dr. Chambers announced. Sabrewulf smiled nervously. He was not looking forward to this. "Now let's see who his competition shall be." The names flashed across the screen again. They stopped on the name Riptor. The dinosaur hissed, but it sounded more like excitement than anger. "And we have our first fighters! The fight will be at 8:00 sharp. We will see you there."

Sabrewulf looked at Riptor who stared back at him hungrily.

"Well, uh, lat the better… beast win." said Saburwolf, holding out his hand. Riptor hissed at him and he pulled his hand back. "Ok then. I, uh, I guess I'll see you in the ring." Riptor was already walking away. Sabrewulf turned to the others. "I don't think he likes me very much."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Five hours later, the contestants found themselves back in the fighting ring. Riptor was standing in the arena while the others were in the top box. Saburwolf was absent. He had left the others around 6:00 to 'get ready' for the fight.

Riptor tapped his clawed foot impatiently. At the other end of the ring, the doors open and a ferocious growling was heard. Several men were dragging a steel cage with a large wolf like creature inside, trying desperately to get out. The werewolf was wearing Sabrewulf's green jacket.

Once the cage was set at its place in the ring, Dr. Chambers' voice boomed over the loud speaker. "Welcome fans, to this years Killer Instinct tournament. Today we have a very special match for you. In the red corner we have the fast and furious Riptor. He's only 4 years old, but don't let that fool you. Weighing in a 700 pounds and reaching a height of 7'0, this prehistoric creature can really rip it up.

"And in the blue corner, weighing in at 400 pounds and reaching a full 5'll, we have Sabrewulf. Yes folks, this man is a werewolf. He has been all 45 years of his life. And as you can plainly see his bite is worse than his bark."

Sabrewulf pounced against his cage, nearly knocking it over. Riptor glared at the werewolf in anticipation. He couldn't wait to sink his teeth into that fury hide.

"I hope you're all ready!" boomed Dr. Chambers' voice. "Because it's time to FIGHT!"

The men opened Sabrewulf's cage and ran for their no good lives. Sabrewulf jumped out of his cage and charged at Riptor, snarling like a rabid animal. Riptor ran full speed at Sabrewulf. He was smart enough to know how dangerous a werewolf was, but he was equally as dangerous. And while Sabrewulf was a mindless blood thirsty monster, Riptor still had human intelligence.

Riptor jumped at Sabrewulf, just as his enemy jumped at him. Sabrewulf overpowered the dinosaur and the next thing Riptor knew, he had Sabrewulf on top of him.

Kicking his legs out like a kangaroo, Riptor sent Sabrewulf flying across the ring. Both were on the feet in an instant. Riptor jumped at Sabrewulf, doing a flip in the air, and slamming his tail down on the werewolf's head. Sabrewulf howled in pain, but used Riptor's position to his advantage. Slamming his fists on Riptor's scaly stomach, Sabrewulf leaned forward and sank his teeth into Riptor's shoulder.

Riptor screeched. Since he was only part human, the werewolf venom had no effect on him, but the bite still hurt like hell. Using a fist, rather than his claws, Riptor punched Sabrewulf in the face. Sabrewulf let him go and roared in his face. Riptor slashed out, his claws digging into Sabrewulf's hairy chest.

Taking a step back, Sabrewulf copied Riptor and slashed at him. Riptor tried to dodge, but wasn't fast enough. Sabrewulf's claws slashed Riptor's neck. Turning away, Riptor swung his tail. Sabrewulf surprised him by grabbing it. Perhaps this beast wasn't all that mindless.

Swinging Riptor around, Sabrewulf let Riptor go, sending him flying. Sabrewulf pounced at the wounded dinosaur. Riptor rolled away just before the werewolf landed right where he had been laying. Taking a deep breath, Riptor spit a wad of bright green venom. It hit Sabrewulf in the face, burning his yellow eyes.

As Sabrewulf rubbed the venom out of his eyes, Riptor ran behind him and jumped on his back, using his claws on both his hands and feet to hang on while he took a bite out of the raging animal, injecting him with his own venom. Sabrewulf howled and tried swinging Riptor off, but the stubborn dinosaurs claws dug into his skin.

Surprising Riptor with his intelligence again, Sabrewulf jumped backwards, landing on his back. Riptor was crushed between the stone floor and 400 pounds of muscle and fur.

Sabrewulf pulled himself free and ran across the ring before doubling back. This gave Riptor enough time to stand up before Sabrewulf pounced at him again. This time Riptor outsmarted Sabrewulf by jumping straight up, allowing Sabrewulf to run by underneath him.

As Sabrewulf turned around again, Riptor swung his tail. It would have made a heavy blow to Sabrewulf's face if his jaws didn't clamp down on Riptor's tail. Screaming in rage and pain, Riptor tried to pull his tail back, only succeeding in making Sabrewulf's teeth tear at his flesh.

Keeping his jaws locked on Riptor's tail, Sabrewulf's dug his claws into the dinosaur's flesh and pulled him back. Riptor was on the ground with Sabrewulf standing over him again. Only this time, he was on his stomach and unable to kick the werewolf off of him.

Sabrewulf let go of Riptor's tail and moved in to finish off his prey. But Riptor wasn't done yet. Pushing off the ground, Riptor jumped backwards, with Sabrewulf on his back. The werewolf yelped as the two crashed into the wall. As Sabrewulf sunk to the floor, Riptor whirled around and clamped his jaws on the werewolf's neck.

Sabrewulf roared and tried to throw Riptor off, but the dinosaur had a firm grip. He bit down harder, digging his teeth deeper into Sabrewulf's neck. Sabrewulf whined as Riptor took him down. There was a loud  _crunch,_  and Sabrewulf stopped moving. Riptor finally let go of the dead werewolf's neck and roared in victory.

"And the winner is, RIPTOR!" Dr. Chambers declared. "Was that a match or what folks? But this is only the beginning! There is much more to come! This is only the first round! We'll be here on the 18th of next month at 8:00! We hope you enjoyed the show! We hope you'll tune in next time! Until then, keep your killing instinct!"

Riptor barely heard a word Dr. Chambers said. The fresh smell of blood was making his mouth water. Giving into his predatorily instincts, he moved bent over Sabrewulf and began to feast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: So, was that a good fight or what. Just so you know, I'm not killing off anyone because I like someone more than the other. In fact, my favorite character dies, but I won't tell you who they are until later. So tell me what you thought.)


	4. Soulless Killers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Sorry, it's been awhile since I've updated, but I've been busy. There may be a few times that I won't be able to update as fast, but I'll do my best.)
> 
> Disclaimer: …Ah, you know what a disclaimer is.

**Chapter 3: Soulless Killers**

It had been nearly three weeks since Riptor had defeated Sabrewulf. Jago felt sorry for the poor man. He had been cursed with the werewolf virus his entire life only to meet such a gruesome end. If any of the other fighters felt any remorse for the fallen contestant, they did a good job of hiding it. The only ones that did seem to care was Combo, Orchid, Thunder, and Glacius. They didn't show their sorrow, but Jago could sense it, and see it in their eyes.

Riptor, Cinder, Fulgore, and Spinal didn't seem to care. Cinder was a convicted criminal and didn't care about anyone but himself. Riptor was the one who had actually killed Sabrewulf, and if anything he seemed happy about it, it was in his nature. Spinal seemed confused. He was lost in a mixture of emotions. He remembered nothing of his humanity, including human emotions. He was an empty hollow shell. Fulgore was very much like Spinal. He was hollow and emotionless as well. He was programmed to kill, and nothing else mattered to him.

Jago sighed and looked at the calendar. The next fight was coming up. Who would be the next to fight? And who would be the next to die? Why must there be so much suffering in the world?

Jago wondered how the world could have become so corrupted. Most of it had been Ultratach's fault. The most powerful company in the world was the cause of it. After achieving world domination it corrupted the world it took control of.

But all that could be turned around once Ultratech was brought down for good. The world could still be saved. Unfortunately, an evil greater than all was lying dormant here. It was an evil so great that even by Evil's standards this thing was an abomination. It had to be stopped. At all costs.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Times of peace never last. There would always be some reason to fight. It was unavoidable. Right now, the reason was that the Killer Instinct tournament was preparing for another fight. The contestants had returned to the arena for the drawing of the next two fighters.

"Let the rotation begin!" Dr. Chambers announced. The names flashed across the screen. They stopped once then stopped twice. The contestants were chosen. "Tonight it shall be Fulgore vs. Spinal!"

The two contestants faced each other. It seemed a fitting match. Two soulless beings that knew only how to fight and kill. Their fate would be decided in the ring.

Silently they walked away from each other. There was nothing to be said. After tonight, one of them would be dead. They both had a killer instinct, and they would use it.

"So the two of them fight," said Thunder, stating the obvious. "It should be well match."

Cinder snorted. "I'm putting my money on Robo-boy."

Orchid shot him a dirty look. "Does life mean so little to you?" she asked angrily.

Cinder shrugged. "They don't concern me. I don't care about them." He smirked. "Let them kill each other for all I care."

Orchid wasn't the only one outraged by Cinder's remark. "Looks like whatever humanity you had was lost when you became The Human Torch." growled Combo.

Cinder just shrugged again. "Perhaps."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

While Spinal and Fulgore stood in the arena, the remaining contestants sat in the top box; with the exception of Riptor, whose tail made sitting in a chair uncomfortable, so he settled with standing.

Jago watched the two fighters, wondering what they were thinking at the moment, if they could think for themselves that is.

"I pity them." He said. The other contestants gave him a curious look. "Both of them were given life to kill or be killed. That was Ultratech's purpose for them. It's all the know."

Orchid's eyes showed a bit of emotion. She normally made an effort to hide her emotions. "I know, it's sad that it must come to this." She agreed.

Thunder seemed confused. "Why they no think for themselves?"

"Because they can't." Jago explained. "Fulgore's an android who only knows how to fight and kill, and Spinal's humanity was erased from his mind so all he knows is how to fight and kill as well."

"Oh, you're breaking my heart." Said Cinder sarcastically. "It doesn't matter because they're going to die when I win this tournament."

"Ha! Dream on." Laughed Combo.

Dr. Chambers voice boomed over the intercom. "Welcome back to the Killer Instinct tournament! If you thought the last match was a sight for sore eyes, wait until you see what we have for you now!

"Here we have the ultimate killing machine, and I mean that literally, Fulgore! Weighing in at 560 pounds and reaching a height of 6'5, this diabolical droid can take down anyone! He may be only a year old, but he has the fighting experience of a master fighter!

"And now we have his opponent! Our oldest contestant ever, Spinal! He's 2650 years old, reaches a height of 5'5, and weighs 110 pounds! He may not have the guts it takes to win, but he has the instinct, and that's all that matters!

"Both these contestants have one purpose, and that is to fight! So let's get this match underway! FIGHT!"

Screaming like a banshee, Spinal ran, with surprising speed towards his opponent. Fulgore swung at the undead warrior. Spinal ducked under the blow and stabbed the cyborg in the gut. If only it could have been that easy. Fulgore's metal body only received a scratch as Spinal's sword slid along it

Fulgore grabbed Spinal, swung him around, and let go. Spinal flew across the arena before crashing to the floor. He was on his feet a moment later. Fulgore charged at him, but his metal body made him slow. Spinal, on the other hand, was fast. He jumped over Fulgore, whirled around, and slammed his shield in the back of Fulgore's head.

Fulgore was an android. He couldn't feel the blow, but his sensors indicated that he had been struck. He turned to his opponent. His fist made a heavy blow against Spinal's shield. Spinal kicked Fulgore where a man's groin would be, but this had absolutely no effect on the robot.

Fulgore swung the blades on the back of his wrist, expecting it to make contact with Spinal, but instead his blades only cut through air. Spinal had teleported away. How he did this, no one knew, it was something he learned in his past life.

Spinal was behind Fulgore. He stabbed forward, but hit nothing. This time it was Fulgore who had teleported away, and he appeared behind Spinal. The skeleton's head turned completely around and he spotted Fulgore behind him, or sensed him really since he had no eyes.

As Fulgore attempted to grab his opponent, Spinal teleported again, but this time to a safe distance. He knew he was no match against Fulgore's strength. He would have to attack from a distance.

Spinal summoned up his energy. He channeled it through his sword and fired a beam of light at Fulgore. Fulgore put his arms up to defend himself. The energy beam hit him, making a dent in his armor. No matter, he could repair himself after the battle. His sensors indicated that he had a much better chance at wining this battle than Spinal.

Speaking of Spinal, the undead warrior had teleported again. He appeared beside Fulgore, stabbed him, then teleported the other side again, repeating the process. The blows were doing nothing more than scratching the droids armor and making him mad.

After several more of these attempts, Fulgore managed to calculate the odds of where Spinal would appear next. He kicked outward and was pleased when his metal foot made contact with Spinal. The skeleton flew backwards. He flipped through the air and landed on his feet.

Fulgore leaned forward. On the bottom of his feet a small chamber opened. Rockets inside his feet went off, speeding him across the room. Spinal raised his shield as Fulgore held up his fist. The combination of speed and strength shattered Spinal's shield. Spinal's mouth dropped open in surprise. His shield had never failed him before. His shock left him when Fulgore's fist made contact with the side of his face, causing his head to spin around.

Spinal took a step back and swung his sword. Fulgore caught it in the blades on his left hand. Then he swung the blades on his right hand and cut straight through Spinal's arm. Spinal was now shieldless, weaponless, and was missing his arm.

Tossing Spinal's arm way, Fulgore grabbed Spinal's ribcage to hold him in place. He swung his blades again, snapping Spinal's spin. As Spinal's lower body detached from him, Fulgore threw his upper half across the room.

Spinal landed hard on his stomach. He attempted to get away by dragging himself across the floor with his remaining limb and a half. He could hear Fulgore's heavy footsteps behind him. Fulgore locked onto Spinal's head. Lasers shot out of his eyes and made contact with the back of Spinal's head.

The scream that erupted from Spinal could shatter glass. His head began to smoke and turn a burning red. With one final cry, his head exploded, sending broken bone and embers everywhere. It was over. Spinal was dead. He was nothing. Lifeless, soulless, and memoryless. Nothing.

"And the winner is Fulgore!" Dr. Chambers declared. "Now that is what I call a battle! But you know it's not over yet! There's still much more to come! Same time, same place! Until then, keep your killer instinct!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Two contestants down. I know so far it's been mostly fighting and what goes through Jago's mind {yes he's the main character}, but more of a plot will come up in further chapters. But I want to know what you think, so review please. Thanks in advance.)


	5. Investigating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Sorry, but there's no fighting in this chapter. Hope you like it though.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I play Killer Instinct, I don't own it.

**Chapter 4: Investigating**

Jago woke up in the middle of the night. Something was amiss tonight. He could sense it. There was tension in the air. It wasn't the same uneasy feeling that he normally felt though. There was something else wrong.

Jago reached out with his senses. There were 8 remaining contestants, including himself. He could feel that 5 of the contestants were sleeping soundly. He coud sense nothing from Fulgore, indicating that the cyborg was in 'shut down mode'. But someone was up and about, and it wasn't him.

Curious, Jago put grabbed his robe and carefully exited his room. He checked the clock. It was 3:14 in the morning. Who would be up at this hour, besides Ultratech's security in charge of the night shift? Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Jago quickly returned to his room and grabbed his sword, just as a precaution. He would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. Then again, his hands and feet were lethal weapons.

Jago could sense whoever was sneaking around leave the contestant's main chamber. Where would they be going? Dr. Chambers had made it perfectly clear that wandering around after dark was forbidden, for their own safety. Jago didn't believe that for s second, and apparently, neither did the prowler.

Being as quiet as he could, Jago exited the main chamber. He was slightly surprised to find a guard asleep on the floor just outside the door. Someone wouldn't be getting a raise anytime soon. But then he noticed something. It was the way the guard was breathing. He hadn't fallen asleep; he had been knocked unconscious. The poor guard hadn't even known he had been under attack. Whoever did this was good, real good.

Jago made his way down the hall. He could sense the prowler nearby. They were crafty, that was for sure. They didn't leave the slightest indication that they had even been down this way. Not even Jago could find their trail, but he could sense them.

Making sure to keep a distance back enough to not avoid detection, Jago continued to follow the prowler. After a minute or two, Jago felt something change in the one he was stalking. They tensed up, and seemed to pick up their pace. Jago sped up a bit so he wouldn't lose them. Then they stopped. There was a pause in their movements.

Now on his guard, and being extra careful, Jago crept down the hall. The prowler was close by. They were right around here somewhere. In fact, he should be able to see them. They were right here. Somewhere. But where?

" _Above you!"_  a voice in Jago's head screamed.

A moment later, a figure dropped down behind him. As quick as lightning, Jago unsheathed his sword. But he wasn't fast enough. His attacker grabbed him and flipped him onto his back. The next thing Jago knew, he was having his face crushed by someone's foot, while the other stood on his hand holding his sword.

"Who are you?" his attacker demanded. "Why are you following me?"

Jago managed to turn his head enough to see his attacker's face. "Orchid?" he gasped.

"Shh!" she snapped. "How do you know me?"

Jago did a quick reverse trick he learned. The next thing she knew, Orchid was crashing to the ground. Jago moved fast and caught her before she hit the cold hard floor.

"Not bad," Jago commented, smirking slightly. "But you left yourself open."

Orchid wasn't happy with his remark. "I don't need a lecture!" she snapped coldly. Then she recognized his voice. "Wait, Jago?"

He smiled and set her on her feet. "Who were you expecting?"

Orchid looked embarrassed for not recognizing her fellow contestant. "Sorry, it's just, I haven't seen you without your mask before."

Jago just shrugged. "It's sort of my shield against the world."

Orchid pulled herself together as she remembered what was going on. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to find out why someone is up after hours." He replied. He raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here?"

"Investigating." She replied before walking past him. "I've been doing it for the past several nights."

Jago looked impressed. "Either I'm getting rusty, or you're just really good. It's not easy to get by me, even when I'm asleep."

Orchid smiled. "I vote for the latter. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

She began walking away again. Jago followed her. "You know you shouldn't be out after hours. It's not safe."

Orchid snorted. "Please. Do you really believe that nonsense? Chambers was just didn't want anyone snooping around."

"Kind of like you're doing?"

"Yes." The two continued walking. Orchid spoke up after awhile. "You know, there's no reason for you to be here. This is my mission. Why don't you go back to bed?"

"Nah, not tired anymore." Jago replied. "Besides, Chambers may have been just using the not safe thing as an excuse to keep us from snooping, but it really isn't safe."

Orchid stopped walking so suddenly that Jago nearly ran into her. She turned to face him with an amused look on her face. "And you're here to protect me, are you?"

"There's more to this tournament than meets the eye." He told her. "There are great dangers here."

"I can take care of myself." Said Orchid, turning her back on him.

Jago sighed. This woman was stubborn. "I believe that, but there is a great evil here that can destroy the world if it reaches its true potential."

He heard Orchid laugh. "Right, and you're here to stop it and save the world."

Jago couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not. "You don't believe me?"

"I never said that. I know just as well as you do that this whole company is the root for most of the world's problems. Once I get the information I need, my agency can shut this place down for good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do." She stopped walking again and turned back to Jago. "Unless you want to help me."

Jago was taken aback. Was she asking for his help? Miss Ice Queen asking  _him_  for help?

"Sure." He replied, before he even took the time to think about it.

Orchid smiled again and motioned for him to come with her. "Follow me."

Jago had no idea where they were going or what they were doing, but he followed her with no questions asked. It was kind of nice having someone to talk to. Most of the contestants kept to themselves and rarely spoke to each other. And before the tournament, Jago had been alone for most of his life training for this tournament. So it was good to have some real company.

Jago had to stop and remind himself that he couldn't think of this woman as anything more than an enemy. Once they met in the ring, if they did, it would be a fight to the death. Getting attached to anyone would only make the fighting harder. This was the main reason why Jago had remained so distant from all the other contestants.

Taking his mind off these unpleasant thoughts, Jago asked the question that was on his mind. "Where are we going?"

"Dr, Chambers' office," Orchid replied, as if this should have been obvious.

After a couple more minutes of silently walking, the two fighters came to Dr. Chambers' office.

"And how do you suppose we get in?" Jago asked.

Orchid rolled her eyes. "You may be experienced in your warrior ways, but you're clueless in matters of the secret service."

"Obviously. Who isn't?"

"Me."

Orchid took her bag off her shoulder, which Jago only just now realized she was carrying, and took out a key card and some sort of mechanical box along with a tool kit. She started with the alarm code. Very carefully, she detached the keyboard away from the wall. She attached a few wires to the mechanical box and hit a button. Numbers began flashing across the scream. Then each one stopped, revealing the numbers 5, 7, 7, 4, 6, 8, 9.

Orchid reattached the keyboard to the wall. She swiped the card then punched in the code. The door opened. Orchid gave Jago a smile. "See, no problem."

Jago couldn't help but admire her skills. "Clever girl."

"Just keep watch for me." She said, before entering the office.

Jago leaned against the wall and waited for Orchid to finish whatever it was she needed to do. He could hear her working in there, but wasn't sure what she was doing. After a couple minutes, he heard her say, "I'm almost done. Give me another minute.

"Take your time." Said Jago. No sooner had the words come out of his mouth did he sense it. Someone, some not one, more than one, was coming. "Um Orchid, scratch that last comment. We need to go now."

"Give me a few seconds."

" _Now!"_

"Give me a few seconds!"

Jago could sense them getting closer. "We don't have a few-"

"Done!" Orchid practically flew out of the room. Closing the door quickly and quietly she punched in the code. "Let's go!" She grabbed Jago by the hand and dragged him down the hall.

After a little bit of running, they slowed down to a walk. "You cut it close!" Jago scolded her.

Orchid didn't like being scolded. "Not close enough. We made it, and that's all that matters."

Jago crossed his arms. "Really? Then tell me why we're being boxed in right now on both sides."

It was true. He could sense people coming behind and in front of them. And there were no rooms to hide in or corners to take. They were busted, and Jago knew it.

Orchid looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

Jago pointed behind her. Orchid turned and saw the hallway lighting up as security flashlights got closer to them.

"Damn it!" she swore. Quickly she grabbed Jago by his robes and dragged him in the other direction. They had only taken a few steps before flashlights light up that side of the hall too. "Damn it!"

"Told you." Said Jago, finding the situation a bit humorous.

"Shut up!" Orchid snapped, trying to think of something. She looked at Jago, seeming to consider something.

"Any ideas?" Jago asked.

"Just one."

"And what might that-"

He was cut off as Orchid pressed her lips against his. He was so shocked that he forgot everything that was happening. This was actually his first kiss, not counting anything from family. He hadn't exactly pictured it happening like this, but he couldn't complain.

"Hey you two, what are you doing?" snapped one of the guards.

Orchid broke away from Jago who was still slightly dazed. "Just going for a late night stroll." She said. "We don't get much privacy back in the main chamber."

The guard shinned the light n her face, making her squint. "I don't care. You know the rules, no one out after dark."

"Alright fine! God, what's the big deal." Orchid fumed.

"The big deal is that those are the rules." Growled the second guard. "Come on, you're going back now."

They escorted Jago and Orchid back to the contestants' chamber. The first guard spotted the unconscious one on the floor and kicked him.

"Get up you idiot."

The unconscious guard groaned and opened his eyes. "Wha-"

"Dr. Chambers will hear about this." The first guard scolded him. He turned to Jago and Orchid. "You two, inside. And no more late night strolls."

"Whatever, jackass." Orchid hissed at him before entering the room.

Jago simply nodded at the guards. "Thank you. Won't happen again."

He followed Orchid in the room and she closed the door behind him. Both of them breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall for support. Jago started laughing and Orchid soon followed.

"That was too close." Jago laughed.

"I know." Said Orchid, through snickers. "You did good. Thanks."

Jago smiled at her. "Anytime."

At that moment, the door to Cinder's room opened and he stuck his fiery head out. "Yo, love birds, quiet down will you. It's hard enough to sleep when you're as bright as the sun."

He retracted his head and slammed the door. Jago looked back at Orchid. Even through the darkness he could tell that she was blushing.

"Well, I have some work to do before I turn in for the night." She said. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight Jago."

"Goodnight." Jago whispered. "Orchid…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: So, how was it? I couldn't have just fighting throughout the story. There will be more chapters like this. Review and tell me what you think.)


	6. Two Forms of Combat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: And now for another fight. There will be more chapters like the last one, but for now here's another round.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, no matter how much I wish I did.

**Chapter 5: Two Forms of Combat**

The contestants found themselves in the battle arena again, watching as the names rotated across the screen. There were 8 fighters left, 2 more were going to fight, and 1 more was going to die. Only Fate knew who these were, for the moment.

The names stopped rotating and 2 names flashed on the screen. Combo and Jago.

Combo punch his open palm. "Finally, I get some action." He turned to Jago. "If there's anything else you want to do with your life, I suggest you do it now, because after tonight…"

He left it at that and exited the room. Jago watched him leave, thinking about what the ex-world champion said. What did he want for the rest of his life? He wasn't sure. His whole life had been leading up to this tournament. Once he defeated the evil, if he did, he wasn't sure what he was going to do with his life. He decided to figure that out when, and if, he won the tournament.

Orchid came up to Jago and tapped his shoulder startling him. "A little jumpy, are you?" she asked.

Jago shrugged. "Just thinking."

Orchid smiled. "So, it's your first match. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to this?"

"Why?"

"You're good Jago, but I want to see how good."

Jago smirked. "Well I'm curious to see how good you are too." He said. "Anyone that can pin me down has got to have some moves."

Orchid didn't reply. She just grinned and left the room. Jago watched her go. Against his better judgment, him and Orchid had gotten friendly with each other ever since that night they had snuck out. It wasn't the only time either. Orchid had woken him up a few days later asking for his help while she did further investigating.

Someone rested a hand on his shoulder. Jago turned to see Thunder standing next to him. The native chief gave him a said smile. "It unwise to get attach with anyone. It make it much harder to do what need be done. You understand?"

Jago nodded sadly. "Yes, I know what you mean."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Jago sat in his room meditating. He needed to clear his mind. It would be difficult to go through with this. Not physically, but mentally. He had to remind himself that this was for the best. By taking Combo's life it would bring him one step closer to defeating the evil and saving the lives of millions of people. Sometimes doing the right thing was hard.

There was a knock at his door. Jago knew who it was before they even addressed themself. "Come in." he said, not even opening his eyes.

The door opened and Orchid walked in. "Jago, am I disturbing you?" she asked.

Jago shook his head, still keeping his eyes closed. "No, you are a good person Orchid. I know I can relax around you."

Orchid wasn't sure if she could take that as a compliment or not. She was a good person, but she didn't want people to  _relax_  around her. She wanted them to think that she was dangerous, this way  _she_  could relax.

"I just came to tell you that your match starts in 10 minutes." She told him.

Jago nodded. "Thank you, I'll be out shortly."

Orchid turned to leave. "I'll be rooting for you." She said before closing the door.

Jago's eyes snapped open. He had been caught off guard by her comment. She wanted him to win? But they were nearly equals in combat. It would be better for her to want him to lose, to avoid competition.

Jago put these thoughts out of his mind. He had to focus on his upcoming match. Jago stood up and headed for the arena. This could very well be the day he died.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"And we are back again with another killer battle!" cried Dr. Chambers. "Our first contestant is the former heavyweight champion of the world! He's 25 years old and has spent 5 of those years at the top! Weighing in at 220 pounds, and reaching a height of 6'1, you all know him, you all love him, it's T.J. Combo!

"Our next contestant is a newbie! He weighs in at 190 and reaches a height of 5'6! His entire 21 years of living have all led to this fight! All the way from Tibet it's Jago!

"Now you two, let's have a good, but not so clean fight! Remember that this is a fight to the death! Now let's see who has the killer instinct! FIGHT!"

Combo charged at Jago with his fists flying. Jago calmly stood his ground, waiting for his opponent to come to him. Combo swung his fist. Jago easily dodged. Combo swung again. Jago leaned to the right, dodging the blow just as easily. Combo swung a third time, putting all his strength in the blow. Jago leaned back so far it looked like his back was broken, and Combo's fist flew over his head.

Jago stood up straight. He began slamming his fists into Combo's chest so quickly his hand movements looked like a blur. But Combo was all muscle. He let out moans of pain as Jago's fists made contact with his chest, which felt more like a brick wall.

Combo took a step back and swung again. Jago did a back flip, avoiding the blow, and continued flipping away from him. Determine not to let his opponent get away, Combo charged after him. Jago stopped flipping and jumped straight up, high enough to allow Combo to run underneath him. Right before the ex-champion was completely out from under him, Jago kicked back, his heel connecting with the back of Combo's head.

Jago landed and turned around to face Combo again; instead, he was greeted by the sight of Combo's fist heading straight for his face. It was like being hit by a wrecking ball. Combo was much stronger than he looked incredibly strong to begin with. Jago was knocked off his feet.

Combo pounced at Jago while he was on the ground. Jago rolled to the side as Combo's knee slammed into the floor, right where his head had been. Jago kicked Combo in the head, knocking him over. Jago kicked again, but Combo blocked the blow. He rolled away and stood up. He tried to land a heavy blow, but Jago was too fast for him. Combo may have been incredibly strong, but he was too slow. Jago had speed on his side, and could easily avoid Combo's attacks, he wasn't in a hurry to receive another one of those massive blows.

Combo chased Jago as the warrior ran from his opponent. He ran to the wall and ran  _up_  the way. He flipped over Combo's head and kicked outward. Unfortunately for Combo, he had turned around to face Jago and was kicked in the face. Blood poured from his nose indicating that it could be broken.

Now he was mad. As Combo swung, his fist finally made contact with Jago's gut. He followed the hit with an uppercut. Jago fell to the ground in the same position he had been in before.

Jago kicked out and hit Combo right in the groin. Combo's cry of pain echoed through the whole arena. He doubled over in pain as Jago jumped to his feet. Using Combo's position as an advantage, Jago kneed Combo in the face three times.

Combo stumbled backwards and ran into the wall. He was feeling dazed, but there was no way he would let this nobody beat him. He was the heavyweight champion of the world.

Combo swung clumsily. He was off balance and his fist missed Jago by a mile. Jago couldn't stand seeing someone in pain like this. He needed to end it. Doing a flip in the air, Jago's feet slammed into Combo's chin.

Combo fell back against the wall again and crumbled to his knees just as Jago made the finishing blow. Doing a roundhouse kick, Jago snapped Combo's head to the side, snapping his neck.

For a split second, time seemed to have frozen for the ex-champion. All his pain vanished. He couldn't hear, see, or feel anything. His mind went blank as his neck broke. Then he was gone…

"And we have a winner!" roared Dr. Chambers. Jago barely heard him. He was staring at Combo's body, not really seeing it. "Who would have thought that a newbie would beat the champ? I certainly didn't! There's a lot of talent in this boy! We look forward to seeing how good he really is! Until then, keep your killer instinct!"

The cameras cut and Ultratech's crew immediately moved out to the arena. They took Combo's lifeless corpse and moved out. Jago watched them go. He had mentally prepared himself for this moment, but no amount of practice could have made this any easier.

He was sure how long he stood there. A few minutes, hours, days. All time seemed to stop. He was looking without really hearing, looking without really seeing, and living without really feeling. All that seemed to matter was him and the life he took.

"Jago?" Jago blinked. He recognized that voice. Orchid. "Are you ok?"

That seemed to snap Jago out of his trance. "I'm not sure. I've never taken a life before."

He looked into Orchid's eyes. Instead of the usual cold hard look he normally saw in them, all he saw was sadness.

"I know the feeling." She said. "I have felt it myself when I first took a life." She seemed to be reliving a painful memory. "But sometimes, you must do what is necessary, for the greater good."

She decided to leave him with this to think about as she turned to leave the room. After another minute or two Jago followed her. On his way out, he passed one of Ultratech's workers.

"That was an excellent fight sir." He said.

Jago didn't even look at the man. "That wasn't a fight." He said quietly. "That was a murder."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Poor Jago. He's really feeling guilty. And if he wants to make it to the end, he has to kill at least 3 more times. Can he do it? Wait and see.)


	7. Hidden Evil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Alright then, here's the next chapter. Sorry, no fight seen, but there will be a glimpse of Eyedol. So enjoy.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own this. Blah, blah, blah. It's not mine. Blah, blah. It's just for fun. Blah, blah, and all that other stuff.

**Chapter 6: Hidden Evil**

The guards continued searching, but it was late and they were getting fed up. It was probably nothing anyway.

"That does it!" snapped one of the guards. "I'm done!"

One of the other guards was still searching around. "I'm telling you I heard something."

"You didn't hear anything." said a third guard.

"How do you know what I heard?" the second guard argued, shining his flashlight in the third guards face. "Don't tell me what I did or didn't hear."

"I don't care if you heard your dead grandmother talk to you from beyond the grave!" the first guard said loudly. "It's late! My shift has been over for an hour! I'm going to bed! If you two want to chase ghosts all night, be my guest! I'm going to bed! Good night!"

He turned around and stormed away. The third guard turned back to the second guard. "I'm with him." He yawned. "See you tomorrow."

He followed the first guard down the hall. Now alone, the second guard took one last look down the dark all before following the others.

After a few minutes, two figures moved out of the shadows. "That was too close." Said Jago.

"There's no such thing as too close." Said Orchid. "There's busted and there's not busted. We were not busted."

Jago rolled his eyes. "Seriously though, you are really pushing it. We nearly got caught this time."

Orchid smiled. She was enjoying this. The thrill of an adventure was always exciting. Not to mention Jago looked cute when he worried. "Well I think I almost have everything I need to shut this place down for good."

Jago's face fell, but it went by unnoticed due to his mask. "That's a shame. I rather liked our late night adventures."

"Adventures?" Orchid repeated. "These aren't adventures. Ok, so they can be exciting at times, but this is very important work. Once Ultratech is shut down, we can get the world moving again."

" _There won't be a world unless the evil is defeated."_  Thought Jago, but decided not to mention it. "Shall we head back?" he asked.

Orchid nodded. But then she began looking around confused. "Uh, do you remember how to get back?"

Jago frowned. He looked around a bit. The truth was, no he didn't. While running and hiding from the guards, they had made a bunch of twists and turns. This area of Utratech was a damn maze.

Trying to lighten the mood, Jago decided to be humorous. "Well, there are worse places we could get lost in."

Orchid wasn't amused. "Come on. Let's at least trace our steps as far back as we can."

As far back as they could go actually wasn't that far at all. It wasn't long before they reached a spot were the two of them had different ideas of where to go.

"I think it's that way." Said Orchid.

"I think it's that way." Said Jago, motioning in the other direction.

"I'm pretty sure it's this way."

"No, I certain it was this way."

After discussing it for a couple minutes, Orchid became fed up. "Fine! You go that way, I'll go this way."

"I don't think we should split up." Said Jago seriously.

Orchid just smirked. "Then you better follow me. And I'm going this way."

"Orchid." She ignored him. What a stubborn woman. Still, he had to respect her determination. But now what was he supposed to do. He didn't want to leave her alone, but he was pretty sure that it was the other way. "Damn it!" he swore under his breath before going after her.

He caught up with her a little ways down the hall. Even in the dark he could see the smirk on her face. "Afraid of the dark?" she asked smugly.  
Jago rolled his eyes. "No, I'm afraid you're going to get caught and get us both in trouble."

"Are you saying I can't take care of myself?"

"No not at all! I'm simply saying that-" He noticed her trying not to laugh. "You're messing with me aren't you?"

Orchid laughed and shook her head. "Jago, there's one thing you need to know about women. There always right."

No sooner had these words escaped her mouth, flashlights could be seen down the hall. They could hear the guards talking as well.

"I heard it!" said one of the guards. "Let's go. Circle around, we'll corner them."

"Damn!" said Jago and Orchid together.

"Time to go." Said Orchid.

"Go where?" asked Jago, he was experiencing déjà vu.

"Up."

"What?"

"The ventilation shaft." Said Orchid, pointing up. "Help me up."

Jago gave her a boost. She pulled the vent open and climbed in. Jago didn't wait for her help. He jumped straight up and crawled in. Orchid just managed to shut the entrance as just as the guards turned the corner.

"We have them now!" exclaimed one of the guards, as he and the others ran by.

Jago and Orchid held their breath until the guards were out of earshot. Then they let it out in a whoosh.

"Ok, that's the last straw." Said Jago. "Now, where doing this my way."

Orchid didn't argue. "Whatever you say."

Crawling through the vent took longer than walking down the hall, but it was safer. They past several more guards on their way back.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" Orchid asked after awhile.

"The Tiger Spirit is guiding me." Was his reply.

Orchid stopped and looked at Jago as if he were crazy. "Say what?"

Jago rolled his eyes. He didn't have time to get into his whole past right now. "It's like a force that guides me. Almost like someone telling me what to do and where to go."

"Well I think your tiger guide is a bit confused. We've never been down D-Wing."

Jago stopped. She was right. This wasn't the way back. But the Tiger Spirit was telling him to go this way. Perhaps there was another reason they were heading in this direction.

A voice made the two of them stop. Someone was walking down the hall muttering to themselves.

"I don't know why I have to do the dirty work." The person was saying. "I don't know what Chambers is thinking. He'll never be able to control this thing."

He went over to a door, punched in a code and swiped his key card. The door opened and a loud roar erupted from in the room. Apparently the room was soundproof. But what was in there. A dim light cast the shadow of an enormous beast in the room. It was swinging around what looked like a giant club. Jago could only see the shadow, but he sensed what it was. It was the thing he had come here for. Nothing could have prepared him for the amount of evil energy radiating off this beast.

"Ah shut up you son of a bitch!" the man shouted before entering the room. The door closed behind him, leaving Jago and Orchid in the dark silence once again.

The two contestants turned to each other. The same thing was written on both of their faces. Fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: A little shorter than normal, but I still hope you liked it. It seems like despite his decision to not get friendly with the other contestants, Jago seems to be getting a little friendly with Orchid. Should he listen to Thunder and go by his original plan by not getting friendly with anyone. And now he has seen Eyedol. What's next, wait and see.)


	8. The Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Sorry for the delay. I have been SOOOO busy lately. I just want everyone to know that no matter how long of a delay there may be, I will never abandon a story.)
> 
> Disclaimer: Is this really necessary, everyone knows I own nothing.

**Chapter 7: The Escape**

Neither Jago or Orchid mentioned what they had seen that night, but it was always on their minds. Jago wasn't feeling all that comfortable with what he would have to face. How could he defeat such a beast? It didn't seem possible.

That night, Jago lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep, not while he knew that an abomination was living in the same building as him.

Suddenly Jago sensed something. Someone besides him wasn't sleeping either. Could it be Orchid out to do some more investigating? Perhaps. It had been over a week since she went out.

No, it wasn't Orchid. Jago could sense her sleeping. What reason would anyone else need to sneak out for? To sabotage? Maybe. He had to find out.

Hopping out of bed, Jago crept to his door. He was much better at sneaking around then whoever was doing it right now. Opening the door just a crack, Jago peeked out to find…

"Glacius?" The alien turned in alarm to Jago. "What are you-"

Glacius put his finger to his lips, or where his lips would be if he had any. It was difficult to read the alien's emotions since the only thing he had of a face were his eyes, but Jago could tell that he was nervous.

"What are you doing?" Jago whispered.

"I'm getting out of here." Glacius replied.

"Why?"

"Why?" Glacius repeated. "I never wanted to fight in this stupid tournament. I take no pleasure in killing, but these, how would your kind say, bastards are forcing me. The first round is almost over. I'll be fighting soon. I do not want to fight, so I'm making a break for it now."

Jago suddenly felt bad for the more alien. He remembered him saying how Ultratech ad captured him and would only free him if he won the tournament. It wasn't fair. And if he got to the end he would have to face that  _thing._  Jago couldn't let this happen.

"I'll help you." He said.

Glacius' eyes widened. "What did you say?"

"I said, I'll help you."

The frozen being seemed confused. "Why would you take a risk like that to help me?"

"You don't deserve this. Ultratech is cruel for forcing you to fight like this. I know my way around the facility. I can help you find the way out."

Glacius stared at Jago in disbelief. During his time here, he had come to believe that humans were cruel creatures. But now, here was one taking a great risk to help him. Whatever he had thought about humans before certainly didn't apply to this one.

Glacius did a strange kind of alien salute. "I shall be eternally grateful for your help."

"Don't be grateful, just be quiet." Said Jago as he motioned for the alien to follow him.

During his late night investigations with Orchid, Jago had began to become familiar with the facility. The two of them had passed the exit on several occasions, so Jago knew exactly where to go.

"Guards." Whispered Jago.

He jumped up and clung to the ceiling. Glacius mimicked Jago's strategy and attached himself to the ceiling, or really freezing himself to the ceiling.

The two remained absolutely quiet as the guards passed by underneath them.

"Hey, is it just me, or is it colder here?" one of the guards asked.

Jago looked over at Glacius in terror. The alien looked equally terrified. He darted his eyes downward towards the guards, silently asking if they should engage in combat. Jago shook his head. There was no point in doing anything that wasn't necessary. Glacius nodded in understanding.

The guards had stopped walking and seemed to be looking around for the cause of the coldness. They were standing right below Glacius.

The alien was getting very nervous. He was too afraid to move. He was surprised that the guards couldn't hear his frozen heart beating.

Jago saw something that made his own heart skip a beat. A bead of sweat was running down Glacius' face.

" _How can he even sweat?"_  thought Jago, unable to believe their bad luck.

One of the guards was standing right below the bead of sweat was about to fall. Jago watched the bead, feeling his heart beat faster. Suddenly, the bead of sweat froze. It still clung to Galcius' face like a little icicle. Jago mentally sighed. That was nerve racking.

"Come on let's just go." Said one of the guards. "It's probably nothing."

The guard below Glacius stayed where he was a few seconds longer. "Yeah, you're right."

Jago relaxed as the guard turned to leave. Then it happened. The frozen bead of sweat clinging to Glacius' face broke off. The two saw it fall in slow motion. It just missed the guard that had been standing under Glacius. It landed on the cold metal floor. Normally, the small sound it made would have gone by unnoticed, but it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and certainly an icicle.

The closest guard froze. He turned around and looked down. The little icicle was laying innocently on the floor. Slowly, the guard looked up. Glacius was right above him.

"We're busted!" cried Jago, dropping from the ceiling.

Glacius too dropped from the ceiling. He turned his fall into a flip and kicked the guard that was standing below him, sending him crashing into the wall.

Jago landed behind the second guard. A quick karate chop to the back of the head knocked him out.

There were 3 guards total. The last one was standing behind Jago. Jago whirled around delivering a round house kick to the guard's head. But the guard was one step ahead of them. The moment he had spotted them on the ceiling, his hand had pressed the button on his belt buckle. Jago's foot made contact with his head a split second later, but it was too late. A loud alarm went off and red lights began flashing.

"Time to go!" cried Jago.

He ran down the hall with Glacius following closely behind. It wasn't long before several guards came running down the hall towards them.

"Jump up." Said Glacius.

"What?" asked Jago, not sure he heard correctly.

"NOW!"

Glacius stomped on the floor. Ice froze rapidly over the floor. Jago jumped up as the ice froze beneath him. But the guards weren't so lucky. They slipped and slid over the ice, falling all over each other.

Jago and Glacius jumped over the fallen guards and continued down the hall. When they reached a door they were supposed to go through, they found it completely sealed.

"Stand back!" Glacius ordered.

A beam of white light shot out of his hand. It completely froze the door.

"Nice." Said Jago impressed. "I got from here." With a mighty kick, Jago caused the frozen door to shatter. "Come on, it's just down here." They were close to the exit now. It was just at the other end of this hall. "You're almost free my friend."

They couldn't have been more than 10 feet from the door when Glacius collapsed. He fell to the ground and remained motionless.

"Glacius!" cried Jago. He ran to the fallen alien's side. Four tranquilizer darts were stuck in his back. "Oh shit."

Jago looked up. A second later, a dart was fired right into his neck. Jago felt its affects instantly. This had a powerful drug. He fell to his knees as he began feeling light headed.

"Well, well, well, looks like we finally caught the ones sneaky out all the time." Said someone.

Jago looked up. He saw the blurry outline of a guard.

"Good night ass hole." Said the guard, right before his fist made contact with Jago's face.

Everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Uh oh, busted. What's gonna happen?)


	9. Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: I know this is over due. It may happen from time to time. If it's not school it's work and if it's not work it's homework. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Hope you like it. Things get a little personal.)
> 
> Disclaimer: See Chapter One

**Chapter 8: Consequences**

Jago awoke to the feeling of his head being shoved under icy water. His eyes snapped open and he tried to stand up, but strong arms were holding him down. He tried to struggle and fight back, but his limbs wouldn't move.

Finally, once Jago thought his lungs would explode, he was lifted up. Gulping down fresh air, Jago was shoved into a cold metal chair.

"Jago, good for you to drop in."

Once the room came into focus, Jago saw Dr. Chambers sitting across from him, not looking very happy at the moment. Jago tried to move, but his arms weighed a ton. He could only lift them a few inches before he collapsed back in his seat.

"You've been drugged." Dr. Chambers explained. "Your limbs will be useless for a few hours, so don't bother trying anything."

Not listening, Jago tried to get up again, but stopped after a few failed attempts. Dr. Chambers just shrugged. "But if you wish to waste your energy, feel free." He folded his hands and looked directly into Jago's eyes. His face was calm, but his eyes had a cold fury in them. "Let's get straight to business. You know why you are here. Care to tell me what that was all about?"

Jago's eyes scanned the room for any sign of Glacius, but the frozen being was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Glacius?" he asked.

"He's fine," said Dr. Chambers, his eyes not leaving Jago's. "For now. Right now we're talking about you. Now if you'll be so kind as to answer why question, we can deal with this quickly; I have other things to do. What were you doing out after dark?"

Jago turned away, even that was an effort. He wouldn't talk. He could be stubborn when he wanted to be.

"Not going to confess?" asked Dr. Chambers. "Well no matter. It's quite obvious what you and Glacius were doing. You were trying to help the extra terrestrial escape. We knew that someone was sneaking out past curfew, we just didn't know who or why. Now it all makes sense. You were trying to find the best way for the frozen freak to escape and finally thought you found a good escape route. Am I right?"

Jago didn't answer. No, Dr. Chambers wasn't right. He and Orchid had been the ones sneaking out, looking for evidence to shut Ultratech down. But he wasn't about to tell Dr. Chambers this, especially when he had a good excuse like this. The downside would be that Ultratech would now up their security. Orchid wouldn't be happy about that and was sure to give Jago quite a scolding; that was considering that he got out o this situation alive.

"Why did you do it?" Dr. Chambers asked. "What does the alien mean to you? He is not of your concern."

Jago looked back at Dr. Chambers and glared at him angrily. "What gives you the right to keep him here against his will? What gives you the right to make him fight for his life? What gives you the right to make him kill others to save himself?"

"Because we can!" snapped Dr. Chambers. "We discovered him, we captured him, we own him! He belongs to us!"

"He is a living thing with feelings just like any human!" Jago argued back. "You can't keep him locked up in here like an animal!"

Dr. Chambers laughed. "Of course we can. We can do anything. That's what power allows. It is our right to do whatever we want. And we want him to fight in this tournament like a good pet. But what about you Jago?"

Jago continued to glare at him. "What about me?"

Dr. Chambers stood up and walked over to him. "Why are you here? All the others have their reasons for fighting. They expect to get something out of this. But you don't. You're risking your life to kill others and want nothing in return."

Jago couldn't help but smile. "You're wrong. I have my reasons for fighting. I just don't want anything from you in return. Once I win this tournament, I'll have everything I need." He looked deep into Dr. Chambers eyes. "I know what you have here."

Dr. Chambers blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?" he sounded nervous.

"You know what I mean. The great warlord. I know he's here. That's why I'm fighting. I'm here to stop him."

Understanding came across Dr. Chambers' face. "Ah, now I get it. You entered this tournament to defeat him. We offer the winner anything they want, but in order to win you must beat him and you will already have what you want. But if you do know what we have, then you know this tournament will only result in your death."

"Most likely." Jago admitted. "But it's my destiny. I must either defeat him, or die trying."

"What makes you think you won't die now?" Dr. Chambers asked. He pulled out a knife and held it to Jago's throat. "What's to stop me from killing you right here and now? You've broken the rules. I have the right to kill you right now."

Jago wouldn't let Dr. Chambers see his fear. "That will make it hard to explain to all your viewers and the contestants. Besides, you wouldn't want to lose a contestant, would you?"

Dr. Chambers held the knife to his neck for a few seconds longer, before he smiled and removed the blade. "You're smarter than you look. However, if we catch you out after curfew again, the penalty  _will_  be death. In the mean time," he headed for the door, "you need to learn a lesson. He's all yours boys."

Three guards approached Jago. A powerful fist made contact with his jaw, knocking him to the floor. The three guards then proceeded in stomping on him and kicking him. Jago was helpless to defend himself.

"You can't control him!" Jago yelled, as he began to lose consciousness. "He'll kill us all!"

"You first." He heard Dr. Chambers say before everything went black.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Orchid impatiently paced the room. She had woken up to find both Jago and Glacius missing. Where were they? Were they hurt? Did they do something stupid? What was she going to do if they got caught and squealed on her?

No, Jago wouldn't talk and Glacius didn't know about the late night investigating. But then what was going on?

Orchid looked at the other contestants. The only other one who seemed to care was Thunder. No one else seemed the least bit concerned about the two missing contestants.

_"I hope Jago's alright."_  Thought Orchid in concern. It was strange, she never really cared for anyone else before. What happened to others was their business and it would be best not to get involved. At least, that's how she had seen things in the past. But now she couldn't help but be worried for Jago's safety. She was concerned about Glacius too, but even more so about Jago. She had grown quite fond of the mysterious warrior over time, which was rather odd for her, she didn't really get attached to people.

"Maybe they chickened out." Cinder suggested. Everyone turned to him. "J-boy's fight with Combo probably spooked him for his next fight and old ice boy was probably afraid he'd face yours truly."

Orchid wanted to break his face, but that would probably only result in her burning her hand. How dare he call Jago a coward. He was not a coward. He was a brave honorable man. He risked his life to help others. He risked his life to help her. And no one would call him a coward while she was around.

"Or better yet," said Cinder smiling, "maybe they're dead."

That was all Orchid could stand. She went over to Cinder and, ignoring the heat and light intensity, got right up in his face. "Don't you dare say that! Jago's too good to be dead. And how can you even hope for something like that?"

Cinder smirked and blew a puff of smoke in her face. "Oh, did I touch a soft spot? Sounds like the ice queen is getting quite fond of J-boy."

Orchid walked away from him. "Where just friends. He's no different to me than any of you." Something told her that this wasn't true. In fact it was a complete lie.

Cinder was enjoying this. "Really, then why did you only freak out when I mentioned Jago? Glacius is missing too."

Orchid turned angrily back to him. Cinder raised his arms as if to say 'bring it on'. Before anything got out of hand, Thunder stepped between the two.

"That enough." He said. "There no reason for you two fight outside tournament. We all worried about others." Riptor snorted and Fulgore didn't show any sign of interest. Thunder gave them a dirty look. "Ok, most us worried. But we no need fight. Cinder stop acting like big idiot and leave Orchid alone."

Cinder snickered. "Whatever chiefy." He said before heading into his room.

Thunder turned to a still angry Orchid. "I sure Jago ok. Glacius too. Dr. Chambers tell us if anything wrong."

Orchid nodded. "Yes, you're right. I'm sorry."

"No need apologize. I worry too. I know we supposed be enemies, but I worry."

Half an hour later, the doors opened and a bloody beaten Jago was thrown into the room. Orchid, Thunder, and Riptor rushed over to him. Cinder wasn't in the room and Fulgore merely glanced in their direction.

"Jago!" cried Orchid, turning him over. His face was all bruised. She angrily turned to the guards. "What did you do to him, you bastards?"

"He was out after curfew." Said one of the guards. "Let this be a lesson to all of you not to break the rules."

Riptor sniffed Jago's body, seeing if he was still alive or fresh meat. Once he was convinced the fallen warrior was alive, he snorted and walked away.

"Where Glacius?" asked Thunder.

"Jack Frost is being kept elsewhere." Said the guard. "He won't be rejoining you." With that he closed the door.

Orchid threw one of Jago's arms around her shoulder. "Help me." She said to Thunder.

The chief leader grabbed Jago's other arm and they brought him into his room, laying him don on the bed.

"He look bad." Said Thunder, looking over Jago's bruised body.

"Get his shirt off." Orchid ordered. They pulled off Jago's shirt. Underneath, his torso was all bloody and bruised. "I could help him if I had the right supplies."

"There an ancient healing ritual me and my people use to heal the wounded." Said Thunder. He placed one hand on Jago's forehead and the other over his chest. He began chanting in a language Orchid didn't recognize, and she knew several languages.

Truthfully, Orchid didn't believe in these kind of ritual, but now she was opening that they really worked. Suddenly Jago's eyes snapped open and he began coughing. Orchid's heart leapt for joy when she saw that he was awake.

"Lay still." Thunder ordered him. "You hurt badly. You need rest."

Jago's eyes scanned the room. "Where's Glacius? Is he alright?"

Orchid and Thunder shared a look that. "He's fine." Said Orchid.

Jago laughed, which turned into a cough. "You're lying. I can sense it."

Orchid sighed. "We don't know. They're keeping him somewhere else."

"We have to help him." Said Jago, trying to get up.

Orchid and Thunder pushed him back down. "You need get better first." Said Thunder.

Jago relaxed, knowing it would be pointless to continue struggling. Orchid tilted his head to inspect a brush on his forehead. He winced at her touch.

"What did they do to you?" she asked, holding back tears. She hardly ever cried. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she did cry.

Jago took a few deep breaths. "Just a little beating." He said. "Trust me, I've had worse than this. Much worse. I'll be completely healed in a week or two."

"I'll decide that." Said Orchid.

Thunder expected a rather large bruise on Jago's chest. "What happen?" he asked.

Jago shifted a bit. "I was trying to help Glacius escape. He just wanted to go home. I had to help him. But we got caught. They think hi m and I have been the ones sneaking out. They weren't happy. I suspect that they'll up security."

"Well you not be sneaking out anytime soon." Said Thunder. "Come Orchid, he need rest. We go."

Orchid nodded and the two exited the room.

"Oh and Jago," said Orchid. "Once you get back on your feet, I'm going to knock you back off them for getting caught."

She slammed the door behind her. Jago gave a painful laugh before falling into a dreamless sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: I would say Jago got off easy. But what about Glacius? Tune in to find out.)


	10. Glacius' Punishment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Thank you everyone who has been reading and reviewing. It really means a lot to me and I hope you're enjoying my story.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing. Enough said.

**Chapter 9: Glacius' Punishment**

Glacius opened his eyes. This didn't make much of a difference since the room he was in was pitch black. Where was he? What had happened to Jago? What the hell was going on?

Glacius tried to move but couldn't. He was in chains. He struggled to get free, but it was useless. Glacius was very strong, but he did have his limits.

"RELEASE ME!" he shouted. "Do you here me? Release me now!"

A door opened and light filled the room. It looked like a prison, only more advanced, like it was designed to hold something not of this world. Like him.

"Good, you're awake." Said the person who entered the room. Glacius immediately recognized the speaker. Dr. Chambers.

_"Of course, who else?"_  he thought to himself. "Let me GO!" he shouted, pulling against his restrains.

"Quit squirming around!" snapped Dr. Chambers. "That cell was especially made for you in the event you tried to escape.  _Tsk, tsk._  Naughty boy."

Glacius ignored Dr. Chambers and continued fighting. "You have no right to keep me here!"

"Oh stop bitching." Dr. Chambers sneered. "You should be grateful you didn't receive Jago's punishment."

Glacius was suddenly concerned. If Jago was hurt or worse, it would be his fault. Jago had risked his neck trying to help him.

"Where is he? What did you do to him?"

Dr. Chambers just shrugged. "He'll be fine. We just had to rough him up a bit to teach him a lesson. He'll make a full recovery though. You should be glad you haven't fought yet or else you would have received the same beating. But we'll need you in tip top shape in case you're the next one to fight."

"You bastard!" Glacius shouted.

A beam of light shot out of his hand. What Glacius didn't know was that he was behind 6 inch thick glass. His ice beam merely left a frozen block of ice hanging on the glass.

Dr. Chambers laughed. "Apparently you don't listen well. I said that this cell was specially made to keep you locked in. I hope you like your new living arrangements, because this is where you'll be staying from now on."

"What?" cried Glacius outraged. "You can't keep-"

"We most certainly can." Dr. Chambers interrupted him. "We gave you a nice room, good food, and company when we first brought you here, but you just lost those privileges with your little escape attempt. Now I bid you good day."

He turned to leave. Glacius glared at his retreating form. "Damn you!" he shouted before the door closed, leaving him in the dark once again.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Jago was recovering remarkably fast, almost supernaturally fast. It had been 2 weeks since his punishment and he was twice as healed than a normal person would be.

"It's the Tiger Spirit." Jago explained to Orchid and Thunder. "It guides me, protects me, heals me."

Thunder did a slight bow. "The Tiger Spirit is a strong one. I must remember to tell my people to honor it with the others."

Orchid rolled her eyes. "I don't believe in spirits like that. Still… your miraculous recovery does define logic."

Jago just smiled. Ever since he had been caught, he, Orchid and Thunder had gotten rather friendly with one another. They all knew that when they met in the ring it would be fight to the death., but until then…

"I wonder how Glacius is doing." Jago wondered out loud. He hadn't seen or heard anything about his frozen friend the whole time of his recovery. "I don't like the idea of him just disappearing. Maybe I should try and go find him."

"You will do no such thing!" cried Orchid. "Not after what had happened to you last time." Orchid had made it very clear that she didn't want Jago sneaking out again. She wouldn't even let him accompany her on her late night investigations, which she had to cut back on since Ultratech had been keeping a closer eye on the contestants.

"I'm sure your friend fine." Thunder assured him. "Ultratech want him to fight in tournament. There still 2 more fights before our second rounds begin. Glacius not fight yet."

That much was true. In fact, it was the only reason Glacius hadn't ended up in Jago's position. But when the alien's time to fight did come, it would either be against Orchid, Cinder, or Thunder. It was a good thing the fights were randomly paired. Or were they…

The day of the next battle came. The contestants were once again in the arena, waiting to see who would be fighting next. Glacius was  _still_  missing and no knew or would say anything about him.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

On her late night searches, Orchid had tried to find the alien, but was unsuccessful. Jago got a good scolding from her when she got back complaining about how much security had increased.

Jago was doing much better. He was still sore, but there were no physical wounds that could be seen. While he had been healing, Jago had tried to sense Glacius' presence. He was still in the facility, but Jago couldn't tell where. He had hoped he would be at the pairing, but he wasn't. Jago had a feeling that he wouldn't see his friend again unless he was in a match.

"Welcome back everyone." Dr. Chambers greeted them. "I know this last month has been a bit difficult, but don't worry, we're back on track. How you hanging in there Jago?"

Jago glared at him. "Where's Glacius?" he demanded.

Dr. Chambers frowned. "He is fine. But I advice you not to get involved with matters that don't concern you. Remember what happened last time?"

"You did that to him?" exclaimed Orchid. "You bastard!"

"You not have right to treat anyone like that." Said Thunder.

"That's in the past." Dr. Chambers replied. "Jago seems to have made a miraculous recovery. Let's just hope he learned his lesson and let bygones be bygones." Before anyone else could reply he shouted, "Begin to roulette!"

The names flashed across the screen. That immediately shut everyone up. Thunder, Cinder, and Orchid knew that one of them would be fighting. The question was who.

The roulette stopped and the next two fighters were chosen. Their names flashed on the screen.

_Cinder_

_Glacius_

Dr. Chambers gave a sadistic smile. "Well now, look at that. We have our next contestants. "It's Cinder versus Glacius. You know the routine. Be here by 8:00, and bring you killer instinct."

With that, he left the fighters. Cinder cracked his knuckles and laughed. "Well it's about damn time I got some action. I've been dying to try my new body out in a real battle. I'll melt that giant popsicle in 10 seconds flat."

"Not unless he puts you out." Snapped Orchid.

Cinder smirked. "I hope I face you next. I'll show you how to really heat things up.  _Ssssssss."_

Orchid gave him a look of disgust as he left the room. She turned to Jago who was still staring at the screen. "Jago? What's wrong?"

Jago didn't reply. Something was telling him that this was wrong. The pairing was supposed to be random, but he had a feeling that this one wasn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Kind of short, but I couldn't really think of much for this chapter. I'll leave you to decide weather the pairing was random or not.)


	11. Fire and Ice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Good gosh, I can't believe how busy I've been. I barely had any time to write. Sorry this took so long to update.)
> 
> Disclaimer: Same as always

**Chapter 10: Fire and Ice**

"Random my ass!" fumed Orchid. "I'll bet Chambers was planning this match from the beginning. Why else would  _Cinder_  be offered what he wants for beating  _Glacius?_  We would have had just as much a chance at facing him and we wouldn't get what we want."

Thunder held up his hand to quiet her down. "You speak the truth." He said. "Dr. Chambers most likely did plan this."

Orchid grabbed from her belt something that looked like a light saber. "He's the one top dog here. Maybe I should kill him now. Ultratech will fall without him."

Jago grabbed her wrist to stop her from leaving. "Orchid, think about this a moment. Can you really bring yourself to kill him in cold blood?"

"In cold blood!" exclaimed Orchid. "Hundreds, maybe thousands of people are dead because of him. He's in charge of Ultratech, which has completely corrupted this world. To not kill him would be like standing aside and letting him take control of the whole damn planet."

Jago knew she was right. He didn't like the idea, but if given the chance, he would kill Dr. Chambers. It would, no doubt, bring Ultratech down. The only downside would be that as long as they were here they were at Ultratech's mercy. If they did anything to Dr. Chambers, his employees would surely kill them. Jago would happily give his life to stop Ultratech and give the world another chance, but he had to stay alive long enough to destroy the evil.

"Orchid, you're right." He said. "Killing him would be justice. It would bring Ultratech down and free the world from his grasp. But what do you think will happen to us. We'd be killed."

Orchid seemed willing to sacrifice herself to bring down Ultratech. "If it stops them." She said.

"Orchid listen to me!" Jago shouted. Orchid was slightly shocked, so was Thunder. They had never seen Jago get angry like this. He was always so calm, as if nothing could ever bother him. "You most likely won't even be able to get near him with all his guards around. You'll die trying. And he doesn't  _have_  to die in order to bring don Ultratech. Isn't that what you've been working towards? Isn't that why you've been sneaking out every night. If you go and get yourself killed, how else will Ultratech be brought down?"

Orchid was surprised by Jago's speech. Although she didn't want to admit it, Jago was right. There was no point in her getting killed when there was still good she could do. She had more than enough information to bring Ultratech down weather Dr. Chambers was alive or not.

Sighing she attached her light saber like gadget to her belt again. "You're right. But it's just so hard standing by and watching people suffer and die for that maniac's sick pleasure."

Jago nodded. "I know. It's hard for me too. But once this is over, he won't be able to harm anyone ever again. I assume he'll go to prison for life."

Orchid laughed. "Prison for life? I've got enough evidence to give him the death penalty 10 times."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The door to the room Glacius was in opened for the first time in days. The alien winced at the sudden flash of light. After being in the dark for so long, it hurt to look at the light. Finally his eyes adjusted to the light. He expected to see Dr. Chambers, but instead two guards stood before him.

"What do you want?" Glacius asked rudely.

The guards didn't reply. One of them went into the cell and removed the chains. Glacius looked at them in confusion.

"Are you letting me go?" he asked hopefully.

The guard shook his head. "No. It's time for your match."

"My match?" It took Glacius a minute to realize what the guard was talking about. "Oh right. My match." He got to his feet, knowing it would be useless to try and escape. "So, who am I facing?"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Jago sat it the top box with the other contestants. He, Orchid, and Thunder were hoping to find Glacius in good health. Fulgore was only there to observe the contestants fighting moves and Riptor was actually asleep.

Cinder was standing in the battle arena, tapping his foot impatiently. He was just itching to try out his powers, and who better than Glacius. Cinder versus Glacius; fire versus ice; this could be the fight of the century.

The door opened and two guards walked in with Glacius who looked utterly miserable. Jago pitied the poor alien. He wondered what the poor creature had gone through. Dr. Chambers didn't seem to care. He went right on with his introduction.

"Welcome, welcome! We're back with another match that will decide the fate of two more of our fighters! They say the world will end in fire and ice; well today we're going to put their destructive power to the test! Our first fighter is a being all the way from another world! He weighs in at 300 pounds and reaches a height of 6'3! His age is unknown as well as the limit of his power! All the way from another planet, it's Glacius!

"His opponent weighs in at 195 pounds and reaches a height of 6'2! He may have led a life of crime during his 31 one years of existence, but now he's become a being of living fighter and unspeakable power! He's a real hot head, it's Cinder!

"This match is bound to heat up, but don't worry, I'm sure Glacius will be able to cool us all down! So let's get this battle started! FIGHT!"

Cinder threw a ball of fire. He liked to see the giant ice cube compete with raw fire power. What he didn't know was that Glacius could do the same thing, just with ice.

Glacius threw his own ball of ice, the two attacks exploded on contact. Cinder began rapidly throwing fireball after fireball. Glacius dodged the balls of fire and threw ice at the ones he couldn't.

"Come on! What you gonna do?" mocked Cinder.

Glacius grew angry. If he wanted to live through this he would have to fight. Putting his ice powers into a single attack, Glacius punched the ground. Something moved beneath the floor as if a mole or something was underneath it. The bump in the floor moved towards Cinder. He jumped aside at the last moment. Right where he had been standing, a beam of light erupted from under the floor. When the light faded, a large stalactite made of ice was right where Cinder had been.

"A smart ass, eh?" fumed Cinder. "Try this!"

A steam of fire flew out of Cinder's hand. Glacius tried to dodge but the fire still hit his shoulder. It melted, leaving a hole there. Water like blood poured out of the wound.

"Ha, how do you like that?" said Cinder. "Not so tough now."

If Glacius had a mouth he would have smiled. Cinder had a real surprise coming to him. The water like blood continued oozing out of the wound. Then it started freezing. Glacius' would was gone, leaving only a slightly different ice pattern.

"You were saying?" mocked Glacius.

Cinder was pissed. His flames flashed outward. "Oh yeah? Inferno!"

His whole body flew at Glacius, turning from a human shape to a large blast of fire. Glacius surprised him by melting. Cinder flew over top of him and took human form again.

Cinder turned to where Glacius was. The puddle that was Glacius moved across the floor and turned back into the alien, who connected his fist with Cinder's jaw. Cinder fell backwards, clutching his mouth in pain. Unfortunately for Glacius, his hand melted a little. He quickly fixed that by refreezing it.

Cinder sat up, throwing a ball of fire, which hit Glacius in the gut. His stomach melted, leaving a large hole. But just like before, the water like blood poured over the hole and refroze.

Cinder scowled. "Don't you ever die?" he asked furiously.

Glacius' response was to melt his arm, form it into the shape of a sword and refreeze it.

"Oh you've got to be kidding." Said Cinder.

Glacius swung his sword arm. It cut straight through Cinder. His body of fire didn't seem fazed. It was no different than trying to cut through fire.

"Bitchin'." Said Cinder, once he realized he was ok.

Glacius swung his blade again, this time he aimed for Cinder's arm. The sword cut through it and the limb fell away and burned out.

"AH! Damn it!" Cinder swore, but a moment later he regenerated his lost limb. "Now this I like."

Glacius would have used his sword again, but it was melting. He turned it back into his arm and jumped back as Cinder threw another ball of fire.

"I like your shape shifting ability." He told the alien. "I wonder…" Cinder focused on his body. His arms turned into fire whips. "Oh yeah, now we're talking."

He swung his whip. It hit Glacius across the chest, leaving a large cut, which froze over again. Cinder whipped out again and Glacius dodged. Sparks flew in all different directions as the whip hit the floor.

"Come on, fight back!" Cinder demanded.

Glacius dodged another whip attack. "You want me to fight? Fine!"

Glacius swung his arm as if he were swatting a fly. The floor froze over in ice. Cinder slipped and fell on his rear, a moment before the ice melted. Glacius threw an ice beam, the same kind he had attempted to use on Dr. Chambers.

Cinder rolled aside, melting the ice as he did so. The ice beam hit the spot Cinder had once been. A large block of ice was now where Cinder was. That could have been him.

Glacius threw another ice beam. This time Cinder reacted by sending a steam of fire, like a flame thrower.

The two elements collided in midair, making the sound of thunder. The two forces battled for dominance, neither giving up. Glacius' ice beam began pushing back Cinder's steam of fire, slowly getting closer.

"Oh hell no." Cinder muttered.

He put more force into his fire power. Now his steam of fire was pushing back Glacius' ice beam.

"No!" Glacius exclaimed. "I'm not ready to die yet."

Using the full extent of his powers, Glacius managed to halt the two energy beams. They now floated in midair, neither moving in the slightest.

"Give it up!" Cinder shouted.

"No, I won't now or ever give up." Glacius whispered to himself.

The intensity of the two beams grew. The entire arena began to shake. Then suddenly…

_**BOOM!** _

The two elements exploded, sending both contestants flying across the opposite sides of the arena. Both Glacius and Cinder were gravely injured, but neither one of them were willing to give up.

Both fighters forced themselves to their feet and charged at each other. They met in the middle of the arena. Both became locked in a death grip. Glacius put ice power into his hands to keep them frozen, but also to lower the temperature in Cinder's hand.

The two were locked in combat, now fighting with brute strength. Their elements began reacting the same way as their attacks had, both pulsing with power, ready to explode.

"Why don't you just surrender?" asked Cinder as he pushed against Glacius. "You can't win. So why do you keep fighting."

Glacius continued to fight against Cinder. "Because Ultratech is forcing me to. And if I'm going to be forced to fight, I'm going to fight to win."

Cinder felt Glacius beginning to overpower him. He readied himself for one final attack. "Yeah, well so am I."

He broke the death grip. Glacius lost his balance and fell forward. Cinder's open palm was right in his face. A large stream of fire flew out of his hand, right into Glacius' face.

Glacius froze as the flames flew across him. When the flames stopped his head was gone, melted. His body twitched before slowly it began melting. Water pored from his body as limbs fell away, falling to the floor with a splash. Soon his entire body was melted into a puddle, showing no sign of life.

Up in the top box, Jago could only watch in horror as his alien friend melted to his death. A wave of guilt over came him. If only he had been more careful during the escape attempt, if only he had tried harder to find him when he was imprisoned, then maybe Glacius would be alive right now. But no, he was dead; melted into a puddle right before his very eyes.

Jago was so lost in the moment that he barely heard Dr. Chambers declare Cinder the winner.

"Now that was a match! Two beings from opposite sides of the galaxy, perhaps further, have used the power of fire and ice to bring this rivalry to a heart stopping end. There is still more to come, and it's only going to get better. We'll see you next month. Until then, keep your killer instinct."

Dr. Chambers signaled for the cameras to shut off. The camera man nodded and cut the shot. Dr. Chambers addressed Cinder over the loud speaker. "Congratulations Cinder. You gave us quite a show. Now as promised, we shall give you the cure."

Cinder looked down at his body. He inspected his hands, his torso, his legs, and felt if head. Then he looked at the puddle that once was Glacius. An evil smile broke out over his face.

"Keep your damn cure. I must be a fool for wanting to give this up. With these powers, I'm a god!"

With that he left the arena laughing. Dr. Chambers' employees gave him a look. The doctor just shrugged. Meanwhile, in the top box, Jago continued to stare at Glacius, or the puddle of him.

"Jago?" asked Orchid carefully.

"I failed him." Jago whispered. "I let him down. I tried to help, but I couldn't save him."

"Jago, it not your fault." Thunder assured him. "You did your best. Sometimes, our best not enough."

Orchid nodded to what Thunder was saying. "He's right. Lay the blame where it belongs; on Ultratech."

Jago tore his eyes away from the sight of his dead friend. He looked up in the other top box where he saw Dr. Chambers laughing and shaking hands with his staff.

"You'll pay for this." Jago vowed. "Once this is over, you'll never harm anyone ever again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: So, how was that? I feel like there was more I could have done for the fight, but I've been busy and suffering writer's block. I hope you liked it.)


	12. Friends Forever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Well this took awhile. Sorry about that. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. It was hard killing off Glacius, he was my favorite character, but I had to do it. I'm also glad you like the evil I put into Dr. Chambers and Ultratech. I wanted them to be the ultimate in corruption, a company that truly thinks they can do anything. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Some of the characters get a little emotional here. Remember, they have been together for five months.)
> 
> Disclaimer: …whatever.

**Chapter 11: Friends Forever**

Jago mourned poor Glacius' death. He had never mourned anyone before. All his life he had trained for this tournament. He had done things on his own, been alone for so long. He had had no one. Now, finally, he had made a friend, only to lose them. True, he had felt bad for Sabrewulf's death, but he hadn't gotten to know him as well as Glacius. They were both good people who didn't deserve their fate. Ultratech was truly a root of evil. It had to be stopped!

Jago looked over at his other two friends; Orchid and Thunder. They were next to fight. One of them was going to die no matter what. And they weren't just going to die, they were going to be killed by each other. Why was fate so cruel?

No! It wasn't fate. It was Ultratech. Them and their cruel ways. Jago made a promise to himself. He was not only going to defeat the evil, he was going to take down Ultratech. He didn't know how since he didn't have the power Orchid's organization had, but he would find some way.

A terrible thought suddenly occurred to Jago. If memory served him right, there were two great warlords. Ultratech had snatched one of them out of Limbo, but there was still another. If they could free one, they could free another. He couldn't let this happen. All the more reason to make sure Ultratech was taken down.

Jago excused himself and headed for bed. He was feeling very tired. Tomorrow he would spend time with his friends while he still had it. He would help them in any way he could. He may not have been able to help Glacius, but he would do what he could for them. He would help Orchid with her mission, weather she wanted him or not, and he would help Thunder find out what happened to his brother, even though he doubted they would be able to find out.

Jago laid down and looked up to the heavens. "Rest in peace, Glacius." He whispered. "You're finally free."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Things hadn't exactly gone as planned. Jago and Thunder had been unable to find out anything on Eagle. The information hadn't even been in anything Orchid had recovered. And speaking of Orchid, she didn't let Jago go on any missions with her until he was 100 better, which took two more weeks. Even then they only went out twice.

The day came a little too soon. The day of Orchid and Thunder's match. The three friends were sadly spending their last moments together. Most of it was spent in silence. What could you say to one of your friends that was either going to die by your hands or kill you? Damn Ultratech, damn them to Hell!

Jago made an attempt to break the uncomfortable silence. "So, I guess after today the first round is over."

Orchid nodded sadly. "Yes. It's just hard to believe that one us…"

She stopped talking. It looked like she was about to cry. Neither Jago or Thunder had seen her cry since the day Jago was 'punished'.

Thunder tried to comfort her. "Orchid, it not easy to except this." He told her. "The last thing I want do is fight you. But our contract-"

"I know!" snapped Orchid, turning her sadness into anger. "I don't want to do this, but Ultratech… This is why I need to shut them down."

Thunder nodded in understanding. "I know your intentions good, but I must know what happen to brother Eagle. I can't stand not knowing. It drive me crazy. Every night I see his face. Every night he suffer and die different ways. I  _must_  know what happened!" A tear ran down his cheek. "I swore I always protect him. I failed. When they came asking for our strongest warrior, I shouldn't have let him go. Now he gone. I need to know what become of him."

Orchid understood this. She knew what an obsession as intense as that could do to a person. It had happened to her. Orchid had no family. They had been killed long ago. She had become obsessed with bringing their killers to justice. It was years before she finally reached her goal, and during that time she would hear her family's dieing cries in her sleep. It was with the hope that she could stop evil people like them that she joined this organization.

But she never thought that she would have to kill a friend. She knew that these missions would call for sacrifices, but she never thought she would have to literally kill someone she was close to. This was why she had tied so hard not to make friends here, so when the time came she wouldn't hold back. But when she and Thunder had worked together to help Jago when he was injured, the three had become friends against her will. And now she had to kill one her friends.

And what about Jago? She looked at the handsome warrior. If she won this next round, there would be a chance she would have to face him. Could she do it? She was much closer to Jago then she was to Thunder. She would rather die herself. But if she did, who would deliver then necessary information required to shut down Ultratech? She had to do this, no matter what.

"Orchid?"

Orchid snapped out of her trance as Thunder said her name for the fifth time. "Sorry, I was… never mind. What were you saying?"

Thunder smiled sadly. "I wanted to say that during our match, I don't want you hold back. I want you go all out, and I shall do same."

Orchid smiled back. "You're on chief."

Thunder looked satisfied with her answer. "Good. And let us promise that no matter what, we still be friends forever." He turned to Jago. "All three of us."

Jago nodded. "I promise." He said.

"All three of us." Agreed Orchid.

"Forever." Thunder finished.

Cinder watched them from across the room. "They make me sick." He said to Fulgore. "Don't you agree?"

"Human emotions are not insufficient." Was the cyborg's reply.

Riptor nodded in agreement.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"And now folks, we've come to the final battle of round one!" cried Dr. Chambers. "So let's meet our last two contestants! Our first fighter is the beautiful, but deadly B. Orchid! Her sexy body weighs in at 125 pounds and reaches a height of 5'6! At age 23, she has a smokin' hot body that can make almost any man weak in his knees!

"BUT, can she take on this mighty warrior? Straight from his native lands it's Chief Thunder! He's 280 pounds of pure muscle, not to mention he reaches a good 6'2 in height! He's 42 years old and has his heart set on winning this tournament! But can he do it? Let's find out! FIGHT!"

Thunder ran at Orchid who stood her ground. Two tomahawks were held tightly in his hands as he swung them around wildly. For a moment Thunder thought Orchid was going to throw the fight, but at the last moment, she whipped out her light saber like swords. The two yellow energy beams shot out and she used them to block Thunder's blades.

Thunder forced his tomahawks downward, but orchid was much stronger than she looked. He grinned at her. "I thought you let me win." He stated.

Orchid grinned back. "Hell no. I promised, didn't I?"

Thunder's tomahawks began to glow bright red from the heat of Orchid's blades. He was forced to pull away or else they would have begun to melt. He swung again but Orchid blocked. Sparks flew from the two fighters' blades as they continued their dance of death.

Thunder surprised Orchid by bending over and slamming his head into her. Orchid flew backwards, but turned her fall into a summersault. He charged at her while she was vulnerable, but this time Orchid had a surprise for him. Crossing the two blades she cried out.

" _Lasaken!"_

A bright beam of energy erupted from the blades. Thunder was caught completely off guard. He had not expected such an attack. The beam hit his shoulder, leaving a nasty burn. It hurt, a lot.

Thunder put his hand over the wound and looked at Orchid in confusion.

"How?"

"The power of technology." She said smirking. "A single code word and the two energies launch of powerful beam. Sorry, that's gotta hurt."

Thunder managed a weak smile. "Technology have it moments, but I have spiritual power. Behold the power of the phoenix!"

A beam similar to what Orchid used fired out of Thunder's hand. Orchid used her blades to block the blast. Electricity and fire flew in all different directions as the beam and the blades made contact.

Coughing from the smoke, Orchid saw Thunder charging at her while twirling around with his tomahawks out. Orchid flipped backwards while spinning and kicked out. Her spinning kick hit Thunder hard in the face.

Once she was on her feet again, Orchid saw a wide open area to land a death blow. She stabbed forward, ready to stab Thunder in the gut.

" _I can't!"_  her mind cried.

At the last moment she changed directions. Instead of stabbing him, she cut him across the chest. Thunder cried out but didn't back down. He dealt a heavy blow and his elbow made contact with Orchid's head.

Orchid fell over, stunned. As she sat up, she saw Thunder's tomahawk coming down towards her face. She leaned back and they soared right over her.

Being very flexible, Orchid managed to do a backwards summersault and landed on her feet again. Thunder was already moving in for attack, his tomahawks flying wildly. Orchid dodged, nearly getting a new haircut. She used her blades to block his next attack. Due to the position she was in, Thunder had the upper hand. He slowly forced her blades down towards her.

But then Thunder's tomahawks began to sizzle as the metal heated up. If she could hold him back long enough, her blades would melt them. Thunder seemed to be thinking the same thing. Not wanting to sacrifice his weapons he kicked Orchid square in the gut.

Getting the breath knocked out of her, Orchid fell on her rear. Thunder jumped up in the air. It looked like he was about to land on her, but he was bringing his tomahawks down as he was landing, ready to slam them into her head.

But Orchid hand quick reflexes. She rolled to the side and did a quick flip to land in a crouching position. Thunder's tomahawks slammed harmlessly into the floor. He was once again exposed. Orchid saw 12 different ways she could have killed him with one attack. One quick motion could end it. She meant to stab, but once again stopped herself and turned the attack into a slash, cutting Thunder's side.

" _Damn it! Focus!"_  she shouted to herself.

The cut was pretty deep and rather than attacking again, Thunder retreated a bit. Or so Orchid thought. Once he was a few feet away, he threw one of his tomahawks at her. Unable to dodge in time, Orchid swung her blade and cut the tomahawk in half. She turned back to Thunder, but he was gone.

She felt a presence behind her, but before she could react, powerful hands wrapped around her arms and grabbed hold of her neck. Orchid was strong, but nowhere near as strong as Thunder. And right now she was in a position in which Thunder could easily snap her neck.

Orchid struggled, but Thunder's grip just tightened on her. She was going nowhere. She herself had gotten several people in this position and killed them while on her assassin missions. She knew she was beaten.

But then Thunder released her. Orchid scampered away and turned back to Thunder in confusion. He was looking at her with great sorrow in her eyes.

"Why?" she asked.

Thunder sighed. "Orchid, you holding back. I know you had several chance to kill me that you not take." His look became serious. "We promised we go all out. No more holding back. No more mercy."

Orchid could only stare at the native chief. She really respected him. He felt like an older brother. But he was right; they had made a promise. No more holding back. She nodded at Thunder and went in for the attack again.

She charged at him and swung her blade. Thunder ducked to avoid the attack while at the same time kicking out to trip her. Orchid fell, but turned the fall into a handstand. She gave Thunder three nasty kicks in the head before jumping into the air, using her hands to push off the floor.

While in the air, she did half a flip and kicked off Thunder, landing on her feet behind him. As Thunder turned to face her, she saw the opening.

" _No more holding back."_  Her mind told her.

Orchid swung underhand, bring her blade upward. Now as Thunder faced her, the blade made contact with his groin and continued cutting up until it burst through the top of his head.

Time stood still for a moment. Thunder seemed confused. It had all happened in less than a second. Then the reaction began. Thunder's mouth slowly opened, pouring blood all over the place. A perfectly straight red line appeared at the top of his head and continued down to where the blade had first made contact with his body. He stood still for a moment longer before the entire left side of his body slide away from his right. The first half collapsed to the floor followed by the second a moment later. Thunder was dead. Reunited with his brother.

"And we have a winner!" cried Dr. Chambers. "The red hot Orchid is moving on to her next round! Good thing too, we need some hotties in this tournament! And now folks, we have completed the first round! All five fighters are now moving onto round 2! The next match is sure to be a great one! We'll see you next month! Until then, keep your killing instinct!"

Orchid heard Dr. Chambers' speech. The man was so heartless. Someone had just died and he's going on about next month's show. Damn that bastard! If anyone here deserved to die it was him. But no. Instead it was Thunder. A good man looking for his long lost brother. And he was killed by her. She was supposed to be the good guy. The one that helped good people like him. And instead she killed him.

Orchid hardly ever cried in her life. The last time she cried was when Jago was hurt. She had swore then, just like every other time, that she would never cry again, but she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Kind of sad. It was inevitable for one of them to die by the other's hand. I hope you liked this chapter. I'll update as soon as possible. 'Till next time.)


	13. Great Sorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Found time to write since it was election day. This chapter's kind of short. After reading the reviews I just want to say thank you. And yes, I do know about Jago and Orchid. I may be changing the story around a bit from the game's plot, but I wouldn't do something like that. Thanks for the heads up though. For those of you that don't know about Jago and Orchid, just wait. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and now on with the story.)
> 
> Disclaimer: Nothing's changed

**Chapter 12: Great Sorrow**

Orchid had locked herself in her room and refused to come out. Nothing Jago said would get her to open the door. Cinder, Fulgore, and Riptor didn't seem to care about her depression. But Jago did. He not only cared, he  _felt_  it. It was strange. It was like there was some special connection between the two of them. The Tiger Spirit was telling him that there was something about Orchid that no one, not even she, knew about.

After five days of being totally isolated in her room, Jago had had enough. He couldn't stand to see her suffer like this.

"Orchid?" he said gently, knocking on the door. He was rewarded by the usual silence.

Jago had finally had enough. He had tried to be nice about this, but he needed to be a bit harsh. How else was he supposed to get through to someone as stubborn as her?

"Orchid, open up!" he shouted. "It's been five days! At least speak to me! I want to help! Damn it, if you don't let me in I'll kick the door down! You know I can!"

He waited a couple of seconds. Finally he heard the  _click_  of the door being unlocked. He slowly opened the door and peeked inside.

"Orchid?" he whispered.

The secret agent was sitting on a couch crying. Well, she wasn't crying, but her cheeks were wet with tears and her eyes were red and puffy. Jago went over to sit by her.

"How you holding up?" he asked.

Orchid sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Oh, I'm doing great. I'm just trying to deal with the fact that I killed someone I cared about."

Jago put his arm around her. "It's ok. I know it hurts. Cry if you must, but if you let your sorrow destroy you then Thunder would have died in vain."

"I'd rather it was me that died!" Orchid snapped. "I would have rather died than kill him. But I couldn't let him win. I would have failed in my mission and the world will still be under Ultratech's control." She began crying again. "Damn Ultratech! He just wanted to find out what happened to his brother." She cried for a few minutes longer. "I know how he felt. I lost my family too. It was so long ago, but I still remember that night. My parents, my sister, my brother. All gone. Those damn bastards took everything from me."

A single tear fell down Jago's cheek. "I can't pretend to know how you feel. I lost my family, but I was too young to remember them. I have no memory of who they were or what became of them."

Orchid felt sorry for him. "How did your family die?" The question was out of her mouth before she had time to think about it.

Jago didn't seem bothered by it. "Devil worshippers." He replied. "Or warlord worshippers to be more precise. They were followers of the creature that lies within this facility. My family was a sacrifice for the monster. I was to be next, but then the monks came. They opposed the warlord and his followers. They saved me and took me away. I was raised by them and worshipped the Tiger Spirit with them. The spirit has led me here to defeat the warlord and avenge my family."

Orchid remained silent. She didn't know what to say. His family, like hers, had been killed in cold blood. Still, he was lucky. He was too young to remember what had happened. She on the other hand heard her family's cries every night.

"I'm sorry." She muttered.

Jago closed his eyes, trying to be strong. This was no time for him to get emotional. "Thank you, but I have come to accept what has happened. We are both victims. We both suffered under the hands of evil."

It was true. They may live different lives, but they had suffered the same pain. The loss of their loved ones had a strong impact on them and it brought them to where they were today.

Jago turned Orchid's head so she was facing him. "Listen to me Orchid. I know what you're thinking. You think you're some horrible person for killing an innocent. You think you're no better than those that have done you wrong. But this is not true. They killed for power and for their own sick twisted pleasures. You killed in hopes that it would bring you one step further to ridding this world of a great evil. The fact that you're suffering like this proves you're nothing like them." Orchid seemed to perk up a bit. Jago felt like he was finally getting through to her. "And besides, do you think Thunder would want you to punish yourself like this? No, he would have been glad that you are at alive if not him. He would want you to live your life, not morn for taking his."

Orchid wiped her eyes. "Thank you Jago. I really appreciate your help."

Jago smiled. "What are friends for? Besides, one of us might not make it through the next round. I didn't want you in here wasting what may be the last few months of your life."

Orchid hit him. "Ass hole. You make it sound like I'm going to die."

Jago laughed. "Well I see you're back to normal. Good, I was beginning to think you were going to stay in here forever."

Orchid stood up. "Oh really. Well Mr… uh…"

"What?"

Orchid couldn't help but smile. "Well it's just that we've known each other for over five months and I don't even know your full name."

Jago laughed. She wasn't the only one who had secrets. "Well I could say the same for you. B. Orchid? What's the B stand for?"

Orchid normally didn't like giving too much information about herself out, but she felt like she could trust Jago. "Black." She replied. "Black Orchid."

Jago looked thoughtful. "Is that your codename, or your real name?"

Orchid smirked. "I'll only tell you if you tell me yours."

"I'm Jago." He replied. "Just Jago. The monks named me. No one had any last names. We were all one family."

It made Orchid feel better knowing that Jago wasn't completely left alone as a child. He did have a family of some sort. Not like her. She had been all alone. She may appear to be a cold heated ice warrior, but still somewhere deep inside was the scared lonely child that she had once been. But there was no way she would ever mention that to anyone.

"No last name, huh? Well then, I'll just have to ask another question." She said.

Jago shrugged. "Ask away."

Orchid thought about everything that she had seen and learned during her stay here. She had never believed in ancient spirits and stuff, but now she was curious. "Tell me about the Tiger Spirit."

Jago raised an eyebrow. "There's a lot to know. It could take awhile to explain it to you."

Orchid shrugged. "Got anything better to do?"

Jago smiled. "Guess not."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Short, I know. But I still hoped you like it. You know what I like? Reviews!)


	14. Fighting Fire With Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Sorry for the delay. You wouldn't believe how busy I've been. Darn school and all of its assignments. Oh well, thank you for being patient. Here's the next chapter.)
> 
> Disclaimer: No, I don't own Killing Instinct.

**Chapter 13: Fighting Fire With Fire**

Orchid's mood improved over the next few days, although only Jago seemed to be the one who cared. If anything, the other contestants seemed upset about her improvement. Each of them had been hoping that in her depression Orchid would be an easy win.

Right now, no one wanted to face Orchid. She had a fierce determine look on her face that sent chills down the other contestants' spines, except for Fulgore who was as emotionless as ever. They were all anxiously waiting for the roulette to choose the next fighters. Everyone, except Fulgore, sucked in their breath when Orchid just happened to be the first name.

" _Round, and round, and round she goes."_ Sang Dr. Chambers.  _"Where she stops, nobody knows."_

The second name came up. Much to Orchid's delight, she saw it was Cinder. She turned to him and gave him a smug look. "Looks like you got your wish." She said.

Cinder glared at her. "Don't act so confident." He remarked. "I remember how much you broke down after you killed Lightning."

"Thunder!" snapped Jago and Orchid.

"Whatever." Cinder muttered, waving it off like it was no big deal. "Is your boyfriend going to have to hold your hand this time?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Orchid shouted. She didn't think that way about Jago. She loved him like a brother, just as she had loved Thunder like a father. And how dare he speak so disrespectfully about Thunder. He should respect the dead. "I'll look forward to meeting you in the ring! "

Cinder shrugged. "Well, if you're that determine to die."

He turned to walk away, but Orchid wasn't going to let him have the final word, and she pulled out her trump card.

"You're the one that's going to die, Ben Ferris." She said loudly.

Cinder stopped dead in his tracks. Slowly he turned to face Orchid. "How did you know my real name?" he demanded in a whisper.

Orchid smirked. "I wasn't made an agent for nothing."

Cinder clenched and unclenched his fist. He so desperately wanted to fry the bitch where she stood, but he held back.

"Well I hope you enjoyed being an agent." He growled. "But I doubt your agency taught you how to fight living fire. Good day to you."

He stormed off fuming. Orchid was glad to have won the argument, but Cinder had a point. How was she going to fight him? Her thought turned to the only person who could help her.

"Jago, I need your help." She told him. "I need to perfect that move by tonight or my goose is cooked."

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"Ladies and gentlemen, we have returned with the second round of the Killer Instinct Tournament!" cried Dr. Chambers. "We have returned, just as we promised, with another explosive match! You already know the fighters, you've already seen them fight, but now you get to see the winners face off! Who will be the best of the best? There is only one way to find out, and it will take a Killer Instinct! So get ready for a real heated match! We give you our champions, Cinder and Orchid!"

Cinder waved to the cameras with a smug look on his face. Orchid just stared at him coldly. It was perfectly clear that the two hated each other and couldn't wait to get started.

"I hope you're ready, bitch, 'cause I'm really on fire today." Mocked Cinder, while at the same time reminding Orchid of his advantage.

Orchid continued to stare at him coldly. "Well I have a few new tricks up my sleeve." She seethed.

Cinder just laughed. "Well whatever you have planned, it's about to go up in flames."

"Get ready, and FIGHT!"

Cinder threw a ball of fire. Orchid didn't even blink. She whipped out her blades and deflected the ball of fire. Cinder was momentarily surprised, have forgot about Orchid's blades. He put his mistake aside and turned into a jet a fire, flying towards Orchid at great speed.

Orchid held up her blades in an X pattern to shield herself. Cinder crashed, with the force of a bullet, into her blades, sliding her back several feet. He changed back right in front of her and began his assault. Orchid had to use her blades to defend since she couldn't touch him. Sparks flew as the fire and blades made contact. Orchid winced at the burning particles, but Cinder wasn't affected in anyway.

"Come on, bitch, is that the best you've got?" Cinder asked.

Orchid responded by jumping back and kicking him in the head. Her foot burned badly and her shoe started smoking, but it was worth I to shut him up.

Cinder stumbled backwards, clearly stunned, by both the blow and Orchid's risk to kick him. He recovered and gave Orchid a sly grin. "Ooh, so you like taking risks. I like that."

He flicked his tongue out at her and Orchid groaned in disgust. "Pig!" she cried before slashing him with her blade.

Cinder cried out as the blade cut through his chest. He immediately recovered as his flames regenerated over his wound. He smirked and gave Orchid the finger, merely to spite her. It worked too.

Orchid stabbed forward, but Cinder simply stepped aside. He grabbed Orchid's blade, by the laser blade part, ripped it from her hand, and tossed it aside.

"Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me." Mocked Cinder.

"Not on your life!" snapped Orchid, stabbing him in the gut with her second blade.

Cinder hopped away, taking her blade with her. He had been hoping she would do something like that. "Stupid bitch." He sneered. He pulled the blade out and threw it away. "Now what? You gonna keep using those pretty legs of yours? They are as hot as I am."

"Pervert!" Orchid shouted.

Cinder laughed. "One of the many reasons I was imprisoned."

He swished his hand at her and a steam of fire flew out. Orchid just missed getting burned. Cinder was immediately upon her. Orchid flipped backwards and connected her foot with Cinder's gut. She swore as her shoe began to some again. If this kept up she wouldn't have a shoe for much longer.

The blow obviously caused Cinder more damage than Orchid thought it would. This was one of Cinder's weaknesses. He may be able to regenerate, and not many things may not be able to touch him, but his body was very fragile. He would recover in a matter of seconds, but the blow still hurt like hell.

It was all Orchid needed. Doing a few back flips, she arrived at the spot Cinder had thrown her blades. Scooping them up, she turned back to Cinder, only to find a large ball of fire flying towards her. She managed to block the fireball, but her blades were knocked from her hands. She was forced further and further away as Cinder continued throwing balls of fire at her until she was cornered.

"Someone's in trouble." Teased Cinder. "Do you surrender?"

"Burn in Hell!" Orchid shouted.

"Well, I'm already burning," said Cinder, "but you're the one that's in Hell."

He raised his hand and was now holding a ball of fire. Up in the top box, Jago watched nervously.

" _Orchid, use the Tiger Spirit."_  He thought to her.

Orchid thought she heard Jago speak, but quickly pushed the thought aside as Cinder prepared to throw his fireball.

"Now or never." She whispered.  _"Fire Cat!"_

Flames consumed Orchid's body, yet these flames did not harm her in the least. The fire took on a new shape in the form of a flaming tiger. Cinder was shocked beyond belief at what he saw.

"What the hell!" he cried before Orchid pounced.

She tackled him to the ground, pinning him there. Cinder's flames had no affect on her. He cried out as the fire cat tore him to pieces. Flaming limbs went flying before melting into regular fire. Cinder was reduced to nothing but a runaway fire. But he wasn't through yet. The fire began coming together, preparing to regenerate.

The flames surrounding Orchid vanished. This was the opportunity she was waiting for. Cinder was defenseless and extremely vulnerable. She snatched her blade and through it straight up. The laser blade hit the fire sprinkler, sending a downpour on the battle arena.

Cinder's voice could be heard screaming from the flames that we reducing to nothing.

"It's cold!" he cried. "It's so cold!"

Then he was gone. His flame had been extinguished. Cinder was defeated.

"Now how about that, folks!" cried Dr. Chambers. "The odds were against her, but she pulled through! Things are only going to get more exciting here folks! So we'll see you same time, same place next month! And don't forget to bring your Killer Instinct!"

Orchid glared up at Dr. Chambers. She wished it was him she just killed, but she would have to wait. His time would come. For now, Glacius' death had been avenged, and it was all thanks to one person.

Orchid looked up into the top box at her fellow contestant. "Thank you Jago." She whispered. "I'd be finished right now if it wasn't for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: This turned out better than I thought it would. I hope you all enjoyed it. I'll update soon. Until then, keep your killer instinct.)


	15. Through the Eyes of Others

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I've been sick. Here's the next chapter. I tried something a little different for this chapter. It's based on the point of views of the contestants. Enjoy.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I've run out of creative disclaimers.

**Chapter 14: Through the Eyes of Others**

_(Fulgure's P.O.V.)_

Kill. Such a simple word had such an impact on humanity. Maybe it would have an impact on him to if he were human. Him? No, technically he wasn't even a him, or a her. He was an  _'it'._  An android, a cyborg, a robot. A cold hearted killing machine with no conscience.

He was designed to do one thing and one thing only. Kill and fight. Ok, so that was two things, but the fighting led to the killing. It was what he was good at. It was what he was made for.

He had no feelings for anyone or anything. He was emotionless. He felt no anger, or joy, or sorrow. From the opinion of a human, he wasn't even living, he was existing. But this did not matter to him. He was not programmed to have these concerns.

His mind wasn't like that of a living being's. Ultratech had given him a memory chip with qualities to mimic the conscience of a human. The chip, his mind, gave him the available options of what to do in a situation, and he calculated what would be the best option. And mostly it ended up with him taking another's life.

This did not bother him. He did not know sorrow or pity. He couldn't if he wanted to. Ultratech did not give him these options. If they had, would he have felt sorry for those he killed? Perhaps. Perhaps not. He would never know. Did he want to know? He didn't know.

Was there more to life than constantly killing and destroying? Not to him. He had no life, nor could he ever have one. He was destined to kill. That was it. But was he a victim of Ultratech, or a predator. He didn't know. These phrases had no meaning to him. He knew only this:

He was to obey Ultratech. He was to kill. He was to prove that he was the perfect weapon to begin mass production. He was Fulgore, the perfect killing machine.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

_(Jago's P.O.V.)_

So much death, so much destruction, so much suffering. And for what? Power and money. Greed was a very dangerous thing. It caused so much pain and suffering in the world.

It was a shame humanity had become so corrupted. Ultratech was mostly to blame. It had all originated from them. It wasn't completely their fault. They had help from many other power hungry people, but they were the main root. A root of evil. Cut the root and the plant will die. That's what Orchid was trying to do.

But there was more to it. He knew this. While Ultratech was the heart of the Earth's corruption, there was a cancer slowly consuming it. Ultratech thought they could control it. But they couldn't. It was just like a disease. The antibodies trying to maintain the disease that was slowly growing and would eventually destroy the host. After that it would break loose and spread all over the world and destroy everything.

But this evil was not a disease. It was a being of great evil and power. It couldn't be controlled. It could only kill or be killed, although the latter was much harder than it sounded. But if this thing could be destroyed, he would find a way to do it or die trying. It was just a shame that it had to come to this.

Was this creature once as innocent as the very people that attempted to control it, or had it been born as the abomination that it now was. He wanted to believe there was a time it was once innocent. But even if there had been a time, did it matter now. No, the creature was too far gone.

So much death, so much destruction, so much suffering. And for what? Power and money. Greed was a very dangerous thing. It caused so much pain and suffering in the world.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

_(Orchid's P.O.V.)_

Why was life so cruel? Was humanity being punished, or was it doing this to itself. She suspected the latter. So many people let greed get in their way. It normally led to their inevitable destruction. It wouldn't be so bad since it would be them that chose that path, it was just a shame that others had to suffer for their gain.

She suffered. She suffered greatly. She had lost her family to the evil that surrounded this world. That was why she had become a secret agent. She wanted to put a stop to all this corruption. Taking down Ultratech was the best thing for this world. It would free it of its evil clutches. Then the world would have a chance to start over. Whether it went down the same path that it had already chosen was up to its people. She could only hope for the best.

But there was something more. Even if Ultratech was taken down there was still an evil greater than all present. She had seen it that one day investigating with Jago. She didn't know what it was, but she knew that if it wasn't stopped it didn't matter if Ultratech remained in power or not. The creature would destroy everything.

It was funny. Before this whole tournament started, she didn't believe in the supernatural. But now she did. In fact, she had experienced it first hand. Jago had showed her the power of the Tiger Spirit. She couldn't deny it any longer. There was defiantly more out there than she knew. Her eyes were now open. She was going to make a point to look further into this spiritual stuff. Considering she made it out of this alive, that is.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

_(Riptor's P.O.V.)_

Was he meant to be this way? Was a creature such as him meant to have this kind of intelligence? Ultratech thought so. In fact, they hadn't just given him human intelligence, they had made him a genius.

This was a good thing as well as a bad thing. He was very smart, but this conflicted with his natural predatory instincts. He was torn between using his intelligence and going by his dinosaur ways. It confused him and caused a great conflict within his scrambled brain. This only fueled his anger and made him more aggressive and dangerous.

This was one of Ultratech's many problems. They only saw half of the equation. They thought they were making a breakthrough in science by creating a creature of great intelligence as well as great aggressiveness. Little did they know that they had doomed the human race.

He had come to this conclusion. With his intelligence, as well as predatorily instincts, he had decided that the human race was unfit to inhabit this world. His kind would take over. True he was the first and only of his kind, but that would change. He had the intelligence to create more of his kind, and he had the strength to overpower any human that stood in his way. His race would dominate the humans. He just had to survive the tournament. He had the brains, he had the power, and he defiantly had the killer instinct.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

_(Eyedol's P.O.V.)_

Darkness. He was surrounded in darkness. It was very ironic. He had spent thousands of years trapped in a prison of light, only to escape and become trapped in a prison of darkness. Not that he minded. He preferred the darkness to the light. The light reminded him of life.

He couldn't stand anything to be alive. He wanted everything to be stone cold dead. Except him and his minions of course. Not that he had any minions left. They had been wiped out thousands of years ago by his nemesis. The second warlord and his minions were just as powerful and evil as he was.

The battle had raged on for centuries. The winner would have the world as his prize. Their armies had fallen in battle until only he and his opponent had remained. All the death brought a smile to his face. Now if only he had been able to destroy his opponent. But no, those stupid wanna be heroes had to go and trap them in Limbo. If they weren't already dead he would have broke their necks.

It had taken thousands of years of him building up his power to finally break out of Limbo. Even then it nearly killed him, and he almost didn't make it. That was, until Ultratech had found his attempt to escape and aided him. The only problem was that he was too weak from his escape to avoid capture.

Now here he was, once again confined in a prison, unable to escape. But this prison was pathetic. It was built by humans. They had no idea what they were messing with. He was bidding his time, waiting for the right opportunity. He would be lying if he said he wasn't curious to see how much the world had changed. He never would have expected such progress. Humans may be pathetic creatures, but their thirst for knowledge and desire to create was astounding. He looked forward to destroying everything they had worked so hard to create.

Just a little more time. Ultratech was planning on unleashing him for the final battle. The world would be watching. They would know his power. He had waited thousands of years to finish what he started, he could wait a few more months. Then the world would fall before him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: I wanted to try and get in the heads of the fighters to see things the ways they would. Did I do good? Tell me what you think.)


	16. The Wrath of a Raptor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: I am SO sorry for the delay, but for some reason I have been unable to submit any documents to post new chapters. It's been very annoying. I'm just glad it's finally working again. So sorry to keep you waiting, I shall not any longer.)
> 
> Disclaimer: If I owned Killer Instinct there would already be a movie.

**Chapter 15: The Wrath of a Raptor**

"Well, it looks like we have a slight problem." Said Dr. Chambers, as his observed the contestants. "It seems we have an odd number of fighters. So, this is how it is going to work. Fulgore, Jago, and Riptor still need to fight. What we're going to do is pair off two of you. Whichever one is not chosen will automatically fight in the next round. Then out of the two remaining contestants, one of them will be chosen as chosen as an opponent."

"That means one of us will fight once more than the others." Said Orchid.

"That is correct." Said Dr. Chambers smugly. "Now, let's find out who our next contestants are. Begin the roulette!"

As they saw many times before, the names of the remaining fighters flashed across the screen. It stopped on the first one.

_Jago._

The young warrior immediately tensed up. He was either going to have to face Riptor or Fulgore. Neither option seemed like it would be easy. Who was he going to face? He didn't have to wait long as his opponent's name flashed across the screen.

_Riptor._

Jago gulped as Dr. Chambers smiled. "Well now, this is interesting. The former dominant species of the planet will face off against the current one. How exciting."

Exciting? Exciting! What kind of sick freak was Dr. Chambers? Playing with people's lives like it was some sort of games. The world would be such a better place once he's dead.

"Now we'll see who truly is the dominant species." Said Dr Chambers.

Orchid snorted. It was hardly a fair fight. Riptor was as smart as a human with the brains of a human. How was that in anyway fair? Not that it mattered.

"Good luck to you both." Said Dr. Chambers, not caring who came out alive.

Riptor made a noise that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a snort. He gave Jago a death glare before stalking out of the room.

Jago sighed. "This isn't going to be easy." He muttered.

"Nervous?" asked Orchid.

Jago nodded. "A little. This guy took down a werewolf with his bare hands."

"Claws." Orchid pointed out.

Jago cut his eyes at her. "Don't make things worse than they already are."

Jago felt nervous under Riptor's gaze. The dinosaur hybrid was staring at him hungrily from across the arena. Last time he had that look he had devoured Sabrewulf. Jago did not want to end up as dino-chow.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"Good day to you folks!" came Dr. Chambers' usual pre-battle announcement. "Like always, we've got a spectacular match for you tonight! It's the fierce ferious Riptor faces the mighty and powerful Jago! You've seen them in their past battles, and both came out on top! Now we'll find out which is the superior fighter! They both have a killer instinct, but who has the greater one! There's only one way to find out! And that's to FIGHT!"

Riptor was even faster than Jago remembered. Perhaps it was because he was now the one facing him. Whatever the reason was, Riptor had managed to run from one end of the football field sized gym to the other in a few seconds.

Jago jumped straight up, planning to jump over the approaching monster. But Riptor expected this, and jumped up to meet his opponent in midair. Jago got the breath knocked out of him as all 700 pounds of dinosaur slammed into him.

Jago was pinned beneath Riptor, the vicious reptile's jaws a few inches away from his face. His breath smelled like death. But Jago wasn't ready for death. He head butted the dinosaur as hard as he could in the nose. Riptor cried out and backed away, giving Jago enough room to be able to kick him off.

Riptor landed a few feet away. He was on his feet a second later. Jago could tell that he was more pissed off than hurt. Riptor charged at him again. Jago called upon the power of the Tiger Spirit.

" _Endokuken!"_  he cried.

A blast off power erupted from his open palm. Riptor was hit square in the gut. Whatever the blast was, it left a large gaping hole in his chest. Jago went on the attack and delivered a powerful kick to Riptor's head. The dinosaur's head snapped to the side. Jago kicked out with his other foot, knocking Riptor to the ground.

Riptor looked wounded pretty bad. Jago made the mistake of letting his guard down for a moment. Riptor's head snapped up and he spit a wad of bright green venom. The toxic goo hit Jago's armor and began burning away like acid.

Jago tore away his armor and threw it aside, where it continued to dissolve. He turned angrily back to Riptor, only to be knocked off his feet by Riptor's tail. Once again, Jago was one his back with Riptor standing over him.

Using his feet, Jago held Riptor back as he held open the dinosaur's snapping mouth, which threatened to clamp over his throat. Riptor growled in frustration at being denied to sink his teeth into Jago's neck. He slashed out at Jago's chest, leaving five long deep cuts.

Jago cried out in pain as he felt his hold on Riptor lessening. Taking a risk, he let go of Riptor's mouth with one hand, allowing the dinosaur's jaws to become dangerously close. Using his free hand, Jago dug his fingers deep into Riptor's wound.

Riptor roared and backed away. Jago kicked him in the gut, causing the rampaging beast to step back further. He jumped to his feet and hit Riptor as hard as he could in the jaw.

Riptor backed away further. He spun around swinging his tail. Jago jumped aside. He caught sight of what was left of his armor, and what was attached to it. His sword!

Jago made a run for the weapon as Riptor pounced, landing right where Jago had been a second ago. Jago ran for his life. He could hear Riptor right behind. In one quick motion, he grabbed his sword and spun around, stabbing the beast in the side.

Riptor let out an inhuman roar as the sword was buried deep into his side. Jago knew he had to strike while he had the chance, he delivered a powerful blow to the dinosaur's chest, causing the sword to tear at its insides.

Riptor spat up a mouthful of blood. He was in bad shape, but he was not giving up. He swung his tail. Jago did a flip and dodged it. He swung again and Jago repeated the process. Suddenly, Riptor surprised him by stomping on his foot, pinning him in place. With a slash of his claws, Riptor left five deep gashes on Jago's left arm.

As Jago cried out, Riptor lunged forward, jaws ready to take a large bite. Jago moved to the side and Riptor's mouth closed on air. An incredible pain hit the dinosaur as Jago grabbed the sword in his side, gave it a twist, and pulled it out.

Riptor pulled away, freeing Jago's foot and giving him the opportunity he needed. The sword came down and connected with Riptor's neck. The ancient beast cried out and fell to its knees. Jago swung again, hitting the same mark and almost cutting all the way through. One third and final swing ended it as Riptor's head was detached from its body. Dinosaurs were once again extinct.

The was a stunned silence for a moment before Dr. Chambers voice cried out like it always did. "We have a winner! I would be lying if I said I wasn't surprised! I would have put my money on Riptor any day, but Jago pulled through! Who would have thought? But this isn't over yet; we still have much more to come! So be here next time this weak, and make sure to bring your killer instinct!"

Jago's fist clenched and unclenched. "You may not be doing the actual killing," he muttered, "but you have a killer instinct just as bad as the thing you're trying to control."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Wow, only 3 contestants left, and Eyedol. I'll have to make these last fights really good. Stay tuned for more. Hopefully my computer won't screw up again. Just know that I never abandon a story. And if I do, which I don't, I'll let you all know.)


	17. True Intentions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Sorry, but this chapter is kind of short. Short, sweet, and to the point. As the chapter title suggests, I'm going to take you into the sadistic mind of Dr. Chambers and just what his plans for 'the creature' are.)
> 
> Disclaimer: Repeat after me, "I do not own Killer Instinct."

**Chapter 16: True Intentions**

"So, which one of us do you think will face Fulgore?" asked Orchid.

Jago looked over at the cyborg. "I don't know. It's a fifty, fifty chance for each of us." He replied.

Orchid too looked at Fulgore. The cyborg looked back at them for a moment before staring off into space again.

"He creeps me out." Said Orchid.

Jago nodded. "Yeah, me too."

"Fear is irrelevant." Said Fulgore unexpectedly. He spoke so rarely that each time was a surprise. "You have nothing to fear from me at the moment. We are not in battle, therefore I have no need to harm you unless my programmers command me."

Jago and Orchid looked at each other. This was the first time Fulgore revealed that he had somewhat of a mind of his own.

"Why do you do what they say?" Jago asked.

"I am to obey them." Was Fulgore's reply. "It is in my programming."

"So, just don't listen." Said Jago. "Go and live the way you want."

"Telling me to go against my programming is like me telling you to breath underwater. It simply cannot be done."

He turned and left the room without another word. Jago looked at Orchid. "Why can't he go against his programming?" he asked. "You know more about how these things work than I do."

Orchid sighed. She tried to think of a simple way to explain this. "Well, it's hard to explain. It's like… Ok, say I ask you a question that you have no idea how to answer unless you look up the information. It's the same thing with him. He doesn't know how to act against his programming unless the information is given to him. But Ultratech made sure not to give him free will, so he doesn't know how to act against his programming. Get it?"

Jago scratched his head. "Uh, I think so. But that means he's their brainwashed slave."

"Basically."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Dr. Chambers sat in his office, pondering on the events to come. The next step was a crucial part of his plans. He knew his 'prize' was very powerful. Too powerful to control. Right now they could barely contain it. But he had a plan. This whole tournament was an attempt to weaken the beast to seize the control he couldn't gain at the moment.

He was thinking way past this tournament. None of his employees knew the true natures of his plans. The power Ultratech had was unopposable, but he wanted more. He wanted total domination of the planet. The creature was the key to achieving this power. But it needed to be weakened first. That's what the tournament was really for; to find the strongest opponent on the planet to weaken the creature enough to gain control over it.

Fulgore was his best bet. The cyborg was years worth of engineering. It had already proven to be the world's strongest weapon. The tournament was just an excuse to get it to face the creature without making things look suspicious. And if a more powerful opponent happened to defeat it, well that was just all the better opportunity to weaken the creature.

The door to Dr. Chambers' office opened and one of his employers walked in. Dr. Chambers glared at the man, irritated that he had interrupted his plotting.

"What is it?" he snapped.

The man cringed under his boss' anger. "Sir, just wondering what we should do for the next battle. Both the man and woman are formidable opponents. Which one should we have face Fulgore?"

Dr. Chambers pondered on this a moment. "We'll leave it up to fate. They will each most likely fall to him anyway."

The man bowed. "As you wish, sir."

The man left the office, leaving Dr. Chambers to his thoughts again.

"It doesn't matter who wins the fight. As long as the strongest reaches him."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"As I told you last month, one of you will be facing Fulgore, the question is who." Said Dr. Chambers.

The 3 remaining contestants stood in the fighting arena. Fulgore's name was already n the screen. His opponent was yet to be chosen.

"Both of you have fought your way though this tournament as hard as possible." Dr. Chambers continued. "And one of you will have to fight one more time this round. Now, we shall see who it will be."

Jago stepped forward. "Why not just let 'it' face him? That will make everything even." He suggested.

Dr. Chambers glared at him. "Don't speak of what you don't know." He threatened. "Begin the roulette."

Orchid and Jago waited anxiously as their names flashed across the screen. The roulette stopped and Fulgore's opponent was chosen.

Dr. Chambers turned to Jago, grinning evilly. "Well Jago, it looks like talking out of line really does get you in trouble."

Jago didn't reply. He merely stared at his name flashing on the screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: You must have seen that coming. Jago and Fulgore just had to face each other. How do you like my idea with Dr. Chambers true intentions with the tournament? He's really a power hungry madman. Stay tuned for more.)


	18. Programmed to Kill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Yeah baby, it's finally here. The fight between Jago and Fulgore. I really worked hard on this chapter so I hope you like it.)
> 
> Disclaimer: Me? Own Killer Instinct? I wish.

**Chapter 17: Programmed to Kill**

"Jago, I have a bad feeling about this." said Orchid. The time to Jago's battle was drawing closer and both Jago and Orchid were getting nervous, the former more so than the latter. "Fulgore is not like any of the others. You saw what he did to Spinal. He's-"

"The perfect killing machine." Said Jago. "I know. But I have to fight him. I have no choice. It's the only way to reach  _him."_

Orchid gave Jago a curious look. "I noticed you never refer to that thing by its name. Do you even know what it's called?"

Jago nodded. "I do, but I dare not speak it."

Dare not speak it? That was like something you heard in a movie.

"Jago, I know this thing is supposed to be the ultimate evil and is really strong, but how bad could it be?"

Jago gave Orchid a very serious look. "If you could sense spiritual energy like I could you wouldn't even ask." He said. "To be completely honest, it's taken everything I have not to run screaming out of here. The very presence of this thing is like… like… I can't even describe it."

Orchid looked over at Fulgore. "What do you sense from him?"

Jago gave Fulgore a good long look. He seemed to be trying to decide something. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's like a hollow darkness, like I'm trying to sense something that's dead, or not even there. To be honest, I'm not sure I can beat him."

As Orchid gasped, Fulgore looked over at his opponent. He hadn't moved an inch for the past several hours. One would think he had shut down, but he was aware of everything that was happening around him, including the conversation that was currently going on.

"Jago," he said, surprising them. "My sensors indicate that there is only a 4 chance for you to defeat me." Jago and Orchid's mouths fell open. "This is based on all data I have gathered from you since the beginning of the tournament. But whether you defeat me or not is irrelevant. My sensors indicate that you have a 0 chance of defeating the one you seek."

Jago paled. He had been afraid of this. Were his worse fears confirmed?

Orchid didn't look convinced. "Ok, first off, you're not even taking into consideration that he still has to get through you and me, but if, and I do mean if, he does, I'm sure he can beat this thing."

Fulgore didn't argue. "Humans." He muttered. "Believe what you want, but I have the facts."

He left the room without another word.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"You knew we'd be back, and here we are!" cried Dr. Chambers. "We have a little surprise for you! Due to the uneven amount of fighters we have, one of our contestants has to fight again! And who better than the mighty and powerful Jago? But, does he have what it takes to face the ultimate killing machine? It's a fight to the finish between Jago and Fulgore! It's time to FIGHT!"

Fulgore took of like a rocket, which was actually very similar to what really happened, as the jets on his feet shot him towards Jago. The cyborg jumped in the air and came crashing down to where Jago was. Jago jumped aside and Fulgore's fist slammed into the floor, sending a powerful vibration through the entire arena.

Jago took this opportunity to deliver a roundhouse kick to Fulgore's head. The cyborg merely stumbled back a few feet, barely fazed and in no way damaged. If Fulgore had a mouth, Jago was sure it would be grinning.

Fulgore slashed out with his blades. Jago leaned back far enough to allow the blades to pass by over him. He immediately went on the attack, kicking Fulgore in the stomach. He followed up with a powerful blow to the head. Fulgore merely stumbled back again. Jago's aching hand was telling him that he caused himself more damage delivering the blow.

Fulgore reached out and grabbed Jago by his shirt, lifting him off the floor.

"Oh shit!" cried Jago as Fulgore threw him clear across the arena.

Jago crashed into the wall and fell over. Fulgore's eye began to glow bright red. Jago knew what was coming, having seen what happened to Spinal. He rolled away as the laser zapped right by him.

He hopped to his feet and went on the attack. Jumping high in the air, Jago kicked out with both feet and gave Fulgore a face full of foot. The cyborg was barely fazed. He slashed forward, using his blades like scissors to slice Jago. But Jago saw this coming. He grabbed onto Fulgore's outstretched arms, using the robot's weight to support his own, and kick forward. He didn't even make a dent.

Fulgore began spinning around, trying to shake Jago off him. But the stubborn warrior refused to let go. He was waiting for the right moment. And there it was. He released Fulgore's arms and allowed himself to fly across the room. He used the momentum to kick off the wall and launch himself back at Fulgore. The android's vision was suddenly blocked by the sight of Jago's foot slamming into his head.

Jago landed gracefully on his feet and observed the damage. To his surprise, there was none. Fulgore was perfectly alright. His defense was incredible. He was once again surprised by Fulgore using his rockets to launch himself forward and slamming his fist into Jago's gut, sending the warrior flying back wards. Apparently, his attack strength was just as strong as hid defense, if not more so.

Jago struggled to get to his feet. That last blow really did a number on him. He wouldn't be surprised if one of his robs were broken. But now he had an idea of how to defeat Fulgore. The cyborg was very strong, both defense and strength wise. But his powerful body really slowed him down, unless he was using his rockets. Jago would have to win this based on speed.

His game plan was interrupted by Fulgore once again shooting lasers out of his eyes. Jago didn't have time to dodge. Instead he just turned his body sideways and the lasers went by on each side of him. But now he was cornered, trapped between the two beams of light. What happened next was completely up to gravity. As Fulgore turned his head, bring the lasers closer to the young warrior's body, Jago lifted his feet up and let gravity pull him down. The lasers just barely passed over his head.

Fulgore's rockets roared to life and the cyborg was once again speeding across the room. Jago rolled to the side as Fulgore's blades made an uppercut slash motion. As the robotic killer dashed by him, Jago jumped to his feet. He turned to where Fulgore continued to speed away. But suddenly the cyborg vanished. It took a second for Jago to realize that he had teleported and another second to realize that he was behind him.

Without bothering to check to see if he was right, Jago let the Tiger Spirit guide his movements. In one quick motion, he whirled around while unsheathing his sword. He took a defensive position just as Fulgore's blades made contact with his sword. The impact nearly knocked the sword from Jago's hands, but he just managed to hold on.

Jago jumped backwards and kicked off the wall just as Fulgore turned on his rockets again. The two came together, creating a powerful impact that shook the whole arena. Just as they met, Jago stabbed his sword into Fulgore's abdomen. The blade broke through Fulgore's armor and went all the wall through to the handle of the sword.

Fulgore elbowed Jago right in the head, sending the warrior flying across the arena. Then he reached up and tore the sword from his metallic body. A small stab wound could be seen, but it didn't appear to affect Fulgore in anyway.

The cyborg threw the sword at Jago, who just managed to duck in time. The sword slammed into the wall and remained stuck there. Jago looked back and forth between the sword and Fulgore before attempting to remove it from the wall. It didn't budged.

"Damn!" exclaimed Jago, pulling on the sword.

Then he saw it. In the reflection of the blade he saw Fulgore right behind him, stabbing forward with his blade. Jago did a back flip, jumping over Fulgore. The cyborg's fist slammed into the wall, shacking the entire room.

" _Endokuken!"_  Jago cried.

A beam of energy shot from his hand and hit Fulgore in the back. The attack left the smallest dent. Fulgore turned to Jago and ripped his hand from the wall. This thing was unstoppable. Its armor was practically impenetrable.

That when it hit him. His  _armor_  was impenetrable. Inside he was just a bunch of wires and gears and such. It was his only chance.

Fulgore turned on his rockets and sped at Jago. But this time, Jago didn't retreat. He charged. Putting all his strength into his point of attack, Jago chose his target. Ducking under Fulgore's slash attack, Jago slammed his fist into the small wound left by his sword.

Jago wouldn't have been surprised if he broke the bones in his hand, but he managed to burst through Fulgore's armor. He didn't stop though. He kept pushing forward until his entire elbow was inside the cyborg's metal body. Grabbing a handful of wires and anything else he could close his hand over, Jago channeled all his energy for one final attack.

" _Endokuken!"_

The energy blast blasted through Fulgore's body, destroying the cyborg from the inside out. Jago pulled his arm out of Fulgore's body, ripping out whatever it was he had in his hand in the process. His entire arm was a bloody mess, but it looked like it worked. Fulgore had stopped moving.

Jago took several steps back and waited for something to happen. At first Fulgore remained frozen, but then he started twitching. Slowly he took a step forward, then another. He trembled with each step until finally he fell forward and remained motionless.

Jago continued to wait for any sign of life. Unlike his other opponents, he couldn't sense any life force from the cyborg. But what he did hear was a beeping noise. That was funny. He had never heard that before. But the beeping noise didn't stop. If anything, it got faster and faster until it was practically a ringing noise.

Jago's eyes suddenly widened in realization as it suddenly dawned on him what was happening. He turned and ran away from the fallen android as fast as he could. The beeping noise suddenly stopped and Fulgore's body exploded with the power of several sticks of dynamite. Pieces of metal and fire went flying everywhere as the explosion consumed over half the arena.

As the explosion ended, Jago slowly got to his feet. There was nothing left of the cyborg except for scraps. Besides the fire burning, it was absolutely quiet. Jago looked up at the top box. Dr. Chambers and his employees sat staring at the scene in a stunned silence. Each of them were beyond shocked by the way the battle turned out.

Dr. Chambers suddenly came to his senses as he declared Jago the winner. "And Jago is victorious! I would be lying to you if I said I thought he had a chance, but he over came the odds and came out on top! Now it's down to him and Orchid! Only one of them can be victories! Tune in next time to see which one of these mighty warriors is the greater fighter! Until then, keep your killer instinct!"

Dr. Chambers words hit Jago much harder than Fulgore's attacks. His next battle would be against Orchid. He looked up at the woman who had become like a sister to him over the past several months. He knew he had to win the tournament in order to face the evil, but could he go through with killing Orchid? And f he couldn't, could she kill him?

Neither option sounded appealing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Was that a good battle or what? I really tried to make this battle much better than the others. And now it's come down to Jago and Orchid. What will they do? Find out next time.)


	19. The Inevitable Approaches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Time for some drama. I'm trying to get a drift of how the contestants would feel having to kill their best friend. Enjoy.)
> 
> Disclaimer: If I could own it, I would own it. But I can't. I own nothing.

**Chapter 18: The Inevitable Approaches**

Jago could safely say that Orchid was avoiding him. She wasn't concerned with hiding it either. After his match with Fulgore, Orchid hadn't spoken one word to him. Anytime he entered the room she was in, she would leave. Whenever he spoke to her, she ignored him. And when it was not possible to not be in the same room, she would stay as far away from him as possible. She didn't even look at him.

Jago knew why though. During the next match, the two of them would have to meet in the ring as enemies. They would need to kill or be killed. Orchid was trying to keep as much distance between herself and Jago so it wouldn't be as hard to kill him.

Jago didn't blame her though. After what happened with Thunder, it would be very hard for her to kill someone else she cared for. Thunder had been a fatherly figure to her, and she was forced to kill him. Jago felt her pain. Thunder had been the closet thing to a father he ever had. The monks that raised him were like family, but never had he had someone that he could call father. Thunder was the closest thing to that. It must have been the same for Orchid, and she killed him. She didn't want to go through that pain again, so she was trying to avoid all contact with Jago.

She wasn't the only one feeling this way though. Jago was going through the same thing as she was. Well, not exactly the same.  _He_  hadn't been the one forced to kill Thunder. It still pained him to know that one of them had to die.

But Jago knew that what Orchid was doing was wrong. It wouldn't make the killing any easier. If anything, it would make it harder. Knowing that you spent the last month you had with a very close friend by avoiding them was not the way to leave things.

He tried to talk to her. He really did, but Orchid was stubborn. She completely blocked him out until he was out of hearing distance. What did he have to do; pin her to the floor and force her to talk to him? Maybe that was the only way to through to someone as stubborn as her.

It was a week before the match before Jago finally decided to take action. He was going to talk to Orchid. She could yell and scream and kick his ass, but he was going to end this tension.

Jago reached out with his senses and felt Orchid's presence. She was in the gym. He would have to be careful because there were lots of heavy objects she could throw at him.

He walked into the gym and spotted Orchid on the elliptical. She was so engrossed in her exercise that she didn't even notice him enter until he was right behind her.

"Orchid, we need to talk." He said.

Orchid immediately stopped her workout. Jago could sense her tensing up. She was about to walk away from him. He knew she was.

And he was right. Orchid turned off the machine, grabbed her towel and water bottle, and headed for the door. She didn't even glance at him.

Now Jago was getting mad, and it was very hard to get him mad. He called upon the power of the Tiger Spirit and pointed at the door. It slammed shut. Orchid tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

She turned to Jago looking angry. "Let me out!" she hissed, speaking to him for the first time in weeks.

Jago crossed his arms. "No." he said simply.

"Open the door. NOW!" Orchid shouted, slamming her fist against the wall, leaving a dent.

Jago didn't reply. He just walked over to a bench and sat down.

"Not until we've settled this." he said calmly.

"Settled what? There's nothing to settle."

Jago cocked his head to the side. "Really?" he said sarcastically. "Is that why you've been avoiding me this whole month? Why you haven't spoken, looked at, or even stayed in the same room as me?"

Orchid's eyes flashed with anger. "I have done no such thing!" Jago gave her a disapproving look. Orchid growled in frustration. "Ok, so I've been avoiding you. So what? I'm free to avoid whoever I want whenever I want."

Jago nodded. "True, but since I'm the one you're avoiding, I would like to know why. Especially since one of us is meant to die next week."

Orchid looked like she was ready to kill him right then and there, but Jago stood his ground. He knew why Orchid was avoiding him, but he wanted her to say it. It would make things easier to fix.

Orchid turned away from him. He was sure he heard a sob. "You wouldn't understand." She said.

" _I_  wouldn't understand." Jago repeated. "Orchid, I've known you for months now. I can sense peoples emotions, even tell what they're thinking at times. I think I understand better than you do."

Orchid turned back to him with fire in her eyes. "You don't-"

"You're afraid you won't be able to live with yourself after the match." Jago interrupted. "If you can go through with it. You don't think you can kill someone you care for, especially after Thunder. You don't want to feel that pain and guilt. So you're trying to hide your emotions and ignore what's going to happen. You want to break our friendship and hope that it will make things easier when the time comes. Am I right?"

Orchid didn't reply, but she didn't have to. Jago was very good at reading people, and he could sense her emotions.

"Don't feel sorry, Orchid." He said. "I know how you're feeling because I'm going through the same thing. But is this really what you want? Do you really want to spend our last month together ignoring each other? You're like a sister to me, Orchid. I've never had a sister. And I don't want things to end badly. Believe me, I wish there was some other way for this to happen, but there isn't. We both have our missions, which are more important than both of our lives. If we don't go through with this then the whole world is doomed. But do we want our last days to end like this? Do  _you_  want it to end like this?"

Orchid could only stare at him. He had just covered every fear, every negative thought that had come to her about the on coming match. And he was right. If this was their last few days together, she would not spend it avoiding him.

Slowly her lips pulled up into a smile. Jago smiled back. That was all he needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Can you even begin to imagine how hard it would be to have to kill your closest friend? You can't exactly blame Orchid for behaving the way she did. Stay tuned for the showdown between Orchid and Jago, coming up next. Maybe I'll have it done for Christmas. Just know that I'm really busy this time of year.)


	20. Showdown Between Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: This sure took awhile. Sorry about that. I get kind of busy during the holidays. I would like to dedicate this chapter to the new "Rocky" movie, which helped inspire the fight scene.)
> 
> Disclaimer: Nothing owned, nothing gained.

**Chapter 19: Showdown Between Friends**

"Who would have thought it would come to this?" Dr. Chambers bellowed. "We've had werewolves, androids, dinosaurs, aliens, the undead, tribe leaders, supernatural criminals, and world champions! Who would have thought that out of all our contestants that two new comers from unknown origin would come out on top? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Killer Instinct finalists, Jago and Orchid! They have fought long and hard, risked life and limb to get to where they are today; but only one can be champion! Only one can come out on top! And only one can have the ultimate killer instinct!"

Jago and Orchid were standing in the battle arena. Today they would be fighting each other to the death. No words had been exchanged while they had made their way to the arena. None had been needed. They both knew that one of them was going to die. All that was left was to see who it would be.

They knew it was unfair. Neither of them wanted to kill or be killed, they never did. Unfortunately, Ultratech and its psychotic leader were forcing them. If only there was someway for them both to survive. But how?

"Now the time has come for our two strongest contestants to show who really is the greatest! Now is the time to see who truly has the greater killer instinct! Get ready and FIGHT!"

Jago and Orchid charged at each other. This would be a fight to the finish. There was no other way. They only other option was a draw, and that would result in both of their deaths. One of them had to survive.

They met in the middle of the ring and Orchid threw a left hook. Jago blocked and aimed a blow to her head. Orchid ducked, dodging the blow. When she came up again she saw Jago aiming a kick at her. She ducked under his leg and landed four heavy blows to his chest. It would have been five, but Jago grabbed her wrist, preventing her from continuing her beating.

Orchid did a back flip, breaking Jago's hold on her wrist. Jago swung at her repeatedly, forcing her to back up further and further. She did a roundhouse kick and nailed him right in the head.

Jago fell backwards but instead of crashing to the ground, he used his position to attack. He pushed of the ground with his hand and kicked outward, catching Orchid in the stomach. She flew backwards but turned her fall into a back flip, which she continued to repeat until she reached the wall, which she kicked off of.

Jago readied himself for an attack, but Orchid surprised him by turning into her fire cat form. Only the fact that Jago sensed her tap into the power of the Tiger Spirit allowed him to know what was coming and give him enough time to dodge the attack.

Orchid ran on all floors underneath the young warrior as he jumped over her. He did a turn in midair so he was facing Orchid's retreating fire cat form.

" _Endokuken!"_  he cried.

A blast of power slammed into Orchid. Luckily for her, the fire surrounding her acted as a barrier and greatly reduced the damage, although it did force her back to human form.

As Orchid changed back, she whipped out her sabers. It was time to take things up a notch. Now armed, she continued her assault.

Jago saw the laser blades in her hands and knew how dangerous they were. He had to dodge the first several swings Orchid made until he had enough time to grab his sword.

Orchid's blades made contact with Jago's sword, sending a shower of sparks flying. She tried to overpower him, but that was useless; Jago was stronger than her and she knew it. She decided to go for speed as she made quick use of her swordplay training. Jago blocked every attack. He was just as fast, perhaps faster than her. But since Orchid had two blades, Jago could only defend, being unable to attack.

Suddenly Jago noticed that she was backing him into a corner. If she boxed him in, things could get bad. He jumped in the air and went soaring several feet behind her. When he landed and faced her again, she had the end of her blades together.

" _Lasaken!"_  she cried.

The codeword activated the sabers to absorb the laser power from her blades and launch a blast of power.

" _Endokuken!"_  Jago cried.

His own blast of energy launch from his open palm and collided with Orchid's attack. The result was a powerful explosion, sending both contestants flying backwards.

Without hesitation, Jago jumped to his feet and went on the attack again. He saw Orchid connect the end of her blades again and he that she was going to unleash her  _'Lasaken'_  attack again. Instead, she just twisted them together, making them one weapon with laser blades at each end.

" _This is new."_  Jago thought, as Orchid also went on the attack.

Orchid spun her laser word around like a paten of death. Jago blocked one end with his sword. Orchid pushed forward to the left. The other end of the blade nearly touched his stomach; that would have hurt. He jumped back to avoid the blades.

Orchid's fighting style had changed completely. With her new weapon, she was now doing several twists and turns, trying to hit Jago with one of the ends of her deadly blades.

Orchid continued swinging her blade. She was set on winning this match. She really didn't want to kill Jago, but it was either him or her, and she had an important mission to do.

But Jago was on a mission too. He had to win this battle, at all costs. If he didn't, the whole world will die.

Orchid spun around and stabbed outward. Jago saw an opening, but not on her. He moved to the side, narrowly missing the blade, and swung his sword. It slammed into the part where the original two blades were attached, detaching them. One of the blades fell away. Jago grabbed it out of the air. Now he had his sword  _and_  one of her blades.

Orchid knew she was in trouble now. Jago was a powerful opponent when she had two blades and he had one, things were sure to be harder when he had two and she had one.

Jago attacked, swinging the two blades. Now Orchid was the one backing up. She could tell that she was almost at the wall, but there was nothing she could do; Jago was relentless.

When she was three feet away from the wall, Jago suddenly surprised her by jumping over her head. He would end up landing between her and the wall. But why would he box himself in.

Jago wasn't planning to. He kicked off the wall, turning as he did so, and landed a heavy blow to Orchid's head. Her head snapped to the side. She thought she might have a concussion. Feeling dazed, Orchid lost her footing and fell down, the blade falling from her hand.

As she tried to get up, she got the wind knocked out of her as Jago landed on her back in a sitting position, brining her crashing to her stomach again. His legs suddenly wrapped around her arms, holding them in place. It was a very awkward position, but that didn't stop her. Using her flexibility, she tried to kick Jago off her back.

Jago had been expecting this and he wrapped his arms around her legs as she kicked. She was completely pinned. No matter, she could turn into her fire cat form. That would certainly get Jago off her back, literally.

That idea was immediately dismissed as Jago leaned forward, painfully taking her captive legs with him, and placed both blades in an X pattern in front of her neck right below her chin. The slightest movement could cause him to slit her throat, and there was nothing she could do to get out of it. She had lost, and she knew it.

Jago continued to hold her in the pinned position with the blades still threatening to slit her throat. Now was the time to finish it. A single movement would end Orchid's life.

"You did it." Orchid whispered. She sounded both sad and happy at the same time. "I guess you really are the best." She closed her eyes. "Go ahead, end it."

Jago's hands trembled. This was a lot harder than he thought. He just couldn't bring himself to take her life.

"Finish her!" Dr. Chambers' voice boomed. "Kill her and take your place as champion!"

Jago couldn't move. He knew what he had to do, he just couldn't do it.

"Finish her!" Dr. Chambers repeated. "Do it now, or you'll both lose!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Ha, ha! A cliffhanger. Can Jago do it? Will he be able to take Orchid's life? Dr. Chambers made it perfectly clear that they'll both die if he doesn't. What's gonna happen? I'm not telling; not now anyway. You'll have to wait and see.)


	21. Compassion and Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Ok, I've left you hanging long enough. Here's the conclusion to Jago and Orchid's match. This chapter also includes how Dr. Chambers plans to control Eyedol. Enjoy.)
> 
> Disclaimer: No, no, no! I don't own Killer Instinct!

**Chapter 20: Compassion and Control**

Jago's hands trembled as he held the blades to Orchid's throat. This was  _a lot_  harder than he thought. He and Orchid had become really close, like brother and sister. He couldn't just kill her. But if he didn't then they both lost, Dr. Chambers had made that perfectly clear. Damn him!

But he couldn't do it. Combo, Riptor, and Fulgore had been easier to kill. Combo wasn't necessarily evil, but he was a brutal tyrant that would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Riptor was a savage beast who had it in his nature to kill, and he enjoyed it. Fulgore was a murdering psycho path whose whole existence revolved around killing. But Orchid was nothing like that. She was a good person who was fighting to make this world a better place, just like him. He couldn't bring himself to kill her.

"What are you waiting for?" Dr. Chambers demanded impatiently. "I said kill her!"

"Just do it." Said Orchid. "You won. You get to move on. I've accepted my defeat. Now just end it."

Jago's heart was racing. This was too much pressure. No one should have to do this. But if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to face his destiny. Damn Chambers and his damn tournament! Luring people here to kill each other and promising them whatever they want just for his sick enjoyment.

Suddenly it hit him. Perhaps there was a way out of this. It would be risky, but Jago was ready to take that risk.

He removed the blades from Orchid's neck and released her. Ignoring her confused look, he turned to the top box to stare at Dr. Chambers.

"What do you think you're doing?" Dr. Chambers cried. "I told you to kill her!"

"No." said Jago calmly.

"No? What do you mean no?"

Jago tossed the blades to the side and crossed his arms. "I refuse to kill her. She already admitted defeat, and you already declared me the winner. There's no need for me to kill her."

"What are you doing?" Orchid whispered.

"That's not the way this tournament works." Dr. Chambers explained. "It's a fight to the death. It was in your contract when you first signed up."

Jago nodded. "Yes, I'm aware of that. Now let me ask you something. Do you remember when I first signed up that you told me that the winner of this tournament is promised whatever they want?"

Dr. Chambers nodded impatiently. "Yes, yes. You said you didn't want anything. What's your point?"

"My point is that I  _do_ know what I want now. For winning the tournament, I want Orchid's life spared."

He heard Orchid gasp but he ignored her, keeping his gaze on Dr. Chambers.

"Sorry, sonny." Dr. Chambers sneered. "But this tournament is not over. You may have defeated the other contestants, but you have one final opponent to defeat before you're official declared the winner of the Killer Instinct tournament."

Jago shrugged. "So if I fail, she dies. If I win, we both leave here alive."

One of the men in the top box turned to Dr. Chambers. "What do you think, sir?"

Dr. Chambers tapped his chin, considering Jago's request. A sly smile broke out over his face. "Very well. Her life will be spared as long as you survive the next round." He turned to Orchid. "Be grateful, young lady. He could have had anything his heart desired, and he chose to spare you." He went back into announcer mode. "You heard it here folks! Jago, the merciful warrior, has decided to spare his opponent! But if he wishes to survive the final round, he will have to show no mercy! Will he be able to win? There's only one way to find out! We'll see you here next month for the final battle in the Killer Instinct tournament! Until then, keep your killer instinct!"

He switched off the loud speaker and turned to his minions. "Take them back to their rooms. Keep a close eye on them."

"Yes sir."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"You want to tell me what the hell you were doing?" Orchid demanded.

Jago gave her an innocent look. "Whatever do you mean?"

Orchid slammed her fist against the wall. "You know damn well what? Back there after our battle. What was that?"

Jago smirked. "I would have thought that you would be happy to still be alive."

Orchid clenched and unclenched her fists. "I am very grateful, but do you realize that Chambers could have had us both killed. To be honest, I'm surprised we're still alive. You shouldn't have risked your life for mine. At least on of us would have been able to get out alive."

Jago shook his head. "I couldn't kill you. I may be a killer, but I'm not a murderer. This was the only way I could think of having us both spared; considering I survive the next match that is."

Orchid let out a sigh and collapsed on the sofa. "But why did you spare me. You risked your own life for mine. Countless people have died standing up to Chambers. All he had to do was snap his fingers and his men would have open fired on us."

"It was worth the risk."

The two were quite for a moment. Jago was watching Orchid carefully, studying her emotions. She looked angry, relieved, and touched all at once. It wasn't that Orchid was upset that Jago spared her, quite the contrary. She was eternally thankful. She was just confused at the moment. Out of all the things Jago could have had, he chose to have her spared.

"Why did you chose to let me live?" she asked.

Jago raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

Orchid decided to elaborate. "If you win the next match you could have had  _anything._  Why did you choose my life for a reward?"

Jago shrugged. "I entered this tournament with one thing in mind. And that was destroying the evil within these walls. I had no desire for any rewards."

"Why?"

"Did you want anything if you won?"

Orchid was silent. She just answered her own question. She had entered the tournament to find the information required to shut Ultratech down. That was it. She didn't want anything for winning. Jago didn't either.

"Orchid, I entered this tournament to defeat the evil. That's all I wanted to do. By winning the tournament, I'll have gotten that. There was nothing else Ultratech could give me."

"But you could have had anything you wanted."

"I got what I wanted. I got to save an innocent life."

Neither of them had any more to say.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Dr. Chambers made his way down the hall, coming to a stop at one of the many doors along the wall. He entered in a code and the door opened, allowing him entry. Within the room was a large machine of some sorts with men in white lab coats running everywhere, assembling more parts.

One of the men spotted Dr. Chambers and wet over to him. "Ah, sir, how are you?"

Dr. Chambers eyed the machine. "Curious about the progress. Time is drawing near."

The man checked his clipboard. "We're nearly complete. Just another week or two and it should be ready."

Dr. Chambers smiled evilly. "Good. This machine is the key to controlling my prize."

The man shifted uncomfortably. He was hired to build this machine, yet he had little idea of how it worked. "Sir, if I may ask, how will this control that… thing?"

Dr. Chambers chuckled. The sound sent chills down the man's back. "It's all a matter of mind control. You see, my friend, this baby is designed to eliminate brain cells and disrupt brain functions. Soon we'll be able to program him to obey my commands. We will eliminate his brain cells until all he knows is how to obey me."

The man looked shocked. "Sir, will that work?"

Dr. Chambers turned back to him. "Of course it will work!" he snapped. "It's the same method we used with Fulgore. Just working in the opposite direction. Fulgore was given only the knowledge of how to obey me. It was all the knowledge he knew and all he was given. This machine will merely eliminate the beast's knowledge until all he knows is how to obey me."

"But won't he be able to resist the machine's power?"

Dr. Chambers laughed again. "That is precisely why we shall first enter him in the tournament. The fighting will weaken him enough so he won't be able to resist the machine's power. And once he regains his strength back, he will be under my control."

Dr. Chambers turned his back on the man and left the room. If there was any thought in the man's mind before, there was none now. Dr. Chambers was mad.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

In the weeks that followed, Orchid trained Jago in her ways of combat. If Jago was going to get through the final round, he would need all the help he could get. He was a very fast learning, and was getting stronger everyday. But would it be enough to defeat the evil that had nearly destroyed the world?

It seemed like time had just flown by. As the day of the final battle finally arrived, Jago could only think back to his long years of training. All his life he had prepared for this day, and finally it was here.

"You'll be fine." Orchid assured him. "I know you can do this."

Jago was nervous. More nervous than he had ever been. He was about to face his destiny. If he failed, the whole world would be destroyed. Why couldn't Ultratech have just left that monster in Limbo?

The door opened and Jago's escort came in. "It's time." The escort said.

Jago rose. "I know it is."

"Good luck." Said Orchid. "I'll be routing for you."

Jago smiled. "Thanks. I'll see you after the match."

He left the room with the escort. He was about to face his destiny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Sorry, but I had to end it there. What do you think of Dr. Chambers' plan to control Eyedol. Brilliant, or insane. Will it even work? You'll just have to wait and see what happens. The next chapter will finally be the one you've been waiting for. I'll try not to keep you waiting too long. Until next time, keep your killer instinct.)


	22. Eyedol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: You've been very patient, and now it has finally paid off. Here it is, the fight you've all been waiting for. The showdown with Eyedol. Enjoy.)
> 
> Disclaimer: This isn't mine.

**Chapter 21: Eyedol**

"Well folks, it's all come down to this!" cried Dr. Chambers. "We have our champion of the Killer Instinct tournament! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you JAGO! He has come a very long way, and now he is our currant champion! But the tournament isn't over yet! He was one final opponent to face before he is officially declared victorious!

"Now, let's bring out his opponent! He was a powerful warlord in his time before he was sealed away for many years! Now he is back, and he is very angry! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you EYEDOL!"

The ground shook as the weight of a monster entered the battle arena. Jago felt his heart rate increase as is opponent came to meet him. He didn't know what to expect, but it was nothing like this.

Eyedol was huge, nearly three times the size of Jago. His body was a reddish brownish color. He looked like he had been molded out of lava rocks. And speaking of lava, it dripped like drool from both sets of his mouth. That's right, this creature had two heads. Each head had a single yellow eye that stared at Jago with hatred. His legs were that of a goat, as one continuously stomped on the floor, shaking the entire room. And if the warlord wasn't intimidating enough, he held in his hand a giant metal spiky club. It looked like it weighed a ton, but Eyedol held it as if it had no weight at all.

Eyedol glared at Jago. "Puny human." Hs two heads growled in an extremely deep voice.

Up in the top box, Orchid's eyes were wide as she stared at Eyedol. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Oh my God." She whispered. How the hell was Jago supposed to beat  _that?_

"The time has come, to pair off our two great fighters! Jago, the Killer Instinct champion, and Eyedol, the ancient warlord! Only one will come out alive! Who will it be? There is only one way to find out, and that is to FIGHT!"

Jago charged. He was surprised that Eyedol didn't move a muscle, allowing the young warrior to sink his fist into the warlord's gut. Eyedol merely grunted and stumbled back a step. Jago looked up at Eyedol, clearly surprised. Eyedol just sneered at him.

Jago jumped high the air and delivered several powerful kicks to Eyedol's heads. He merely grunted again and stumbled back a few steps more. Jago stared, completely at a loss for words. He knew Eyedol would be powerful, but he had just kicked the freak in his faces with all his strength and it barely fazed the fiend.

Eyedol laughed evilly. "You weak little human, you are no match for us." He growled.

Jago took a defensive position, not taking his eyes off Eyedol's club. He certainly didn't want to be on the receiving end of a blow from that.

"Our turn." Eyedol growled.

He swung his club, but Jago was ready for that. He lifted his legs up and let gravity seize him. The club flew harmlessly over his head, but Eyedol's powerful hand closed over his leg.

"We hear humans have found a way to fly." Eyedol sneered. "Let's see how well."

He spun Jago around and threw him across the ring. He crashed into the wall, leaving dent deep enough in it for him to rest on without falling to the floor. Jago felt dazed. Eyedol sure had a lot of power.

A loud stomping noise caught his attention. He looked up to find Eyedol charging at him. Jago pushed himself off the wall and slid right under Eyedol's feet as the mighty warlord rammed into the wall. That must have hurt, or so Jago thought, but Eyedol simple turned to him grinning.

Jumping up, Jago proceeded to deliver kicks to Eyedol's body as he rose in the air. Eyedol viciously backhanded him, sending him halfway across the arena. Jago landed hard on his back, but he didn't have time to recover since Eyedol had jumped in the air, planning to crush his weak body. Jago quickly rolled away as Eyedol's landed created a crater in the floor.

Eyedol smirked at him. "You're fast, and you can take a beating." He commented. "We must admit that you have impressed us, for a human. But you will die!"

A blast of green energy blasted from his mouths. Jago ducked under the beams. The crashed into the wall, creating an explosion bigger and more powerful than a grenade.

Eyedol growled in annoyance. "Damn humans. Their prison has prevented us from recover our full strength fully. They will pay with their lives. But you will die first!"

He swung his club again. Jago jumped out of the way as the club smashed straight through the floor. Before Eyedol could pull his club free, Jago had whipped out his sword and slashed down Eyedol's back. Green blood oozed from his wound. Eyedol growled, in frustration more then pain as he turned to face Jago again.

Jago stabbed forward, driving his sword into Eyedol's gut. The mighty warlord responded by kicking Jago with his goat-hoofed foot. Jago landed several feet away, leaving his sword stuck in Eyedol's gut.

Slowly getting to a kneeling position, Jago winced from the pain coming from his chest. He suddenly spat up a mouthful of blood. That certainly wasn't good. Eyedol had probably broken a rib.

And speaking of Eyedol, he just snorted as he ripped Jago's sword from his body and tossed it aside. After a few seconds, his wound healed completely. The two heads smirked and flexed his massive muscles.

He charged again. Fighting against the pain, Jago forced himself to his feet. Eyedol swung his club sideways. Jago did not avoid it, but instead he grabbed hold of one of the metal spikes, allowing himself to be taken along for the ride.

He flew off the staff and headed for the wall. Kicking off it, he soared back at towards Eyedol. He kicked the left head as hard as he could. Eyedol actual moaned in pain. The momentum Eyedol had given Jago gave him enough power to harm the beast.

Jago landed like a cat at a distance he felt was safe for the moment. Eyedol turned to him, looking angry now.

" _Endokuken!"_

Eyedol's eyes widened with surprise as he was hit with Jago's attack, which seemed to actually do damage. Jago's momentary joy soon turned to worry when he saw the look on Eyedol's face. Before Eyedol had been staring at him with the hatred he had for all mankind, but now he was looking at him with pure loading.

"That was an attack of the Tiger Spirit!" Eyedol cried angrily. "You're one of his followers!"

Jago no longer felt any reason to hide who he was. "Yes, I am. And I have been training al my life to defeat you."

Eyedol roared with rage an charged at Jago, no longer fighting for pleasure, but for the need to wipe the young warrior from the face of the earth. He attacked with a fury unlike any Jago had every seen. Eyedol was no longer playing around, he was out to kill.

Jago ducked as Eyedol swung his club, onlt to have the mighty warlord's knee to slam into him. Now on his back, Jago had to roll away as the club smashed into the place he had just been laying. Eyedol lifted the club up again and brought it down. Jago rolled in the opposite direction as the club slammed into the floor, creating a second large crater, equal to the one on Jago's other side. Eyedol brought down the club down a third time and Jago pushed himself under Eyedol's legs. As he hopped to his feet, Eyedol's foot kicked backwards, slamming into Jago's back.

After flying 20 or 30 feet, Jago was half unconscious. At the moment, he was barely aware of who he was, let alone who he was fighting. Eyedol slowly approached, ready to smash Jago's body to a bloody pulp.

Up in the top box, Orchid watched as Jago was beaten senseless. He was losing, badly. And it was clear that he couldn't last much longer. As Eyedol approached him, Orchid realized that this could be the end for her friend.

"The hell with this." she said.

Without a second thought, she jumped off the top box and down into the battle arena. She whipped out her blades as she landed on Eyedol's back, stabbing them into his flesh. Eyedol roared in pain and anger as the saber blades burned the inside of his body.

Back up in the top box, Dr. Chambers and his employees watched this surprising turn of events.

"Sir, what should we do?" asked one of the men.

Dr. Chambers scratched his chin. "Leave them be." He said. "This could be interesting."

"But it's two against one."

"Oh come now, they are no match for him. Besides, this may make our job easier."

Eyedol shook around wildly until Orchid went flying off. She immediately moved to defend Jago.

"You ok?" she asked, not taking her eyes off Eyedol.

Jago groaned, trying to fight down the pain. "Oh sure." He moaned. "Never better."

Eyedol turned to see who had snuck up on him and his eyes narrowed as he spotted Orchid.

"Stupid bitch." He growled. "We'll break you in half."

"If you can." Orchid taunted.

Before Jago could say anything, Orchid charged at Eyedol. The warlord swung his club downward. Orchid jumped up, as the club crashed into the floor, and changed into her fire cat form. Ignoring Eyedol's surprise, she ran up his club and pounced on him, sinking her jaws of flame into one of the heads' neck.

Eyedol cried out and tried to shake her loose. Orchid wouldn't let go. Eyedol grabbed Orchid's flaming body and, ignoring the burning, tore her off him and threw her to the ground. Orchid's flames went out as she reverted back to her human form.

Eyedol gave Orchid the same look of hatred he gave Jago. "You too." he growled. "You're a disciple of the Tiger Spirit."

Orchid moved back in front of Jago and took a defensive position. "If that pisses you off, then yeah I am."

Eyedol stomped on the floor, making the whole room shake. "Damn you!" he bellowed. "You and you're master! Damn you all to Hell!"

A powerful aura seemed to be coming off Eyedol. His body began glowing with a green light and the air around him appeared to wiggle like the street would do on a hot day. Eyedol looked at his enemies and said in a cold voice, "You have no idea who you are messing with. Behold our power."

The room began shaking again and it got hot, very hot. Up in the top box, all the electrical equipment started going haywire, much to the anger and confusion to Ultratech's employees.

All the windows and other glass made items shattered as the walls and floor cracked. Fire began spreading across the arena floor as lava burst up like a geyser from under the three fighters. Pieces of floor fell away into the river of lava below them as the walls began melting.

"Such power!" Dr. Chambers exclaimed, watching Eyedol in awe.

Jago and Orchid weren't quite as awed as they were fearful. They, Jago especially, knew that this was only the tip of Eyedol's power.

The all powerful warlord turned back to his opponents, victims, and said, "Now you know our power. And now you will DIE!"

He charged at them. Orchid lept to her left as Jago, now on his feet again, lept to the right. Eyedol swung his club in a circular motion, trying to hit both of them at once and not hitting either of them. He growled in frustration as Jago and Orchid reversed directions and began attacking together. Their attacks were more annoying than painful. He swung his giant arms out, knocking both fighters away.

Orchid was the first one back on her feet and she once again charged at Eyedol, ready to slice him up with her blades. Eyedol had other ideas. He swung his club sideways. Before Orchid could dodge the blow, the club made contact.

"ORCHID!" cried Jago in panic as he watched, almost in slow motion, as Orchid's blades fell from her hands and she flew backwards.

She landed several feet away and remained motionless. Jago didn't know if she was even alive. Fortunately, none of the metal spikes on Eyedol's club had hit her, but the blow alone was enough to kill her.

Eyedol laughed as he turned to Jago. "You're next."

He swung his club. Jago jumped to the side and began rapidly punching Eyedol's arm. Not even fazed, Eyedol elbowed him, sending him flying backwards. When he landed, Eyedol was already running towards him. He kicked Jago in the side, sending him flying again.

Jago saw stars as he struggled to remain conscious. Eyedol could care less if the fallen warrior was awake or not as he grabbed Jago by the leg and threw him across the room. Jago landed less than a foot away from the cracked floor. He felt the heat from the lava below him coming up, but he was to busy trying, unsuccessfully, to get to his feet.

Eyedol slowly walked over to his opponent and stood over him, tall and powerful.

"We hope you're ready to die, human." He growled.

Jago could do nothing as he watched Eyedol raise his club.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Ha! Cliffhanger. I hope you like the battle so far. Is Orchid dead? Can Jago still beat Eyedol? Only one way to find out. Please review.)


	23. Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Grr. I'd rather take on Eyedol than go back to school. It would be far more merciful. School has a real killer instinct.)
> 
> Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Killer Instinct.

**Chapter 22: Escape**

The pain. The incredible pain. As Orchid slowly fought her way out of unconsciousness, the pain build up in her chest where Eyedol had hit her with his club. To be honest, she was surprised she was still alive. After taking a blow like that, she should be dead.

Orchid couldn't move; she hurt too much. Every breath caused a blast of pain. She wanted nothing more than to sink back into oblivion and reveal herself of her suffering.

No, she couldn't do that. She had a job to do. The problem was that she didn't have the strength to even open her eyes.

" _Orchid, you must get up."_

The voice spoke in her mind, using her voice. Had she not been suffering so much, she would have instantly moved to a defensive position and demand the speaker to come out.

" _Orchid, Jago needs your help."_

Orchid's mind tried to make sense of things, although it was difficult since the pain was clouding her judgment.

" _Who are you?"_  she asked, speaking in her mind to the mysterious voice.

" _I am the Tiger Spirit."_  The voice replied.  _"Jago is in trouble. Eyedol is about to kill him. You must save my disciple and defeat my enemy."_

" _I can't."_  thought Orchid sadly, tears filling her eyes, which she still didn't have the strength to open.  _"I don't have the strength to move. Eyedol's attack, it was too powerful."_

" _Orchid, you are my disciple too. You have fought along side Jago and have faced Eyedol. I will heal you from your pain, but you must stop Eyedol, or else he will take over the entire planet. Rise and fight Orchid. I command you."_

Orchid suddenly felt as if she had a bucket of cold water poured on her. When the sensation went away, she was no longer in pain. Her eyes snapped open and the first thing she saw was Jago laying by a large opening in the floor that led down to a river of molten lava with Eyedol standing over him, ready to make the final blow.

She suddenly received a flashback to when her family was killed. It was so long ago, 20 years to be exact, but she still remembered it as if it were yesterday. Those men had come into her house, her home. They slaughtered everyone. She managed to get away, but she had lost everything.

It was for this reason that she became a secret agent. Now she would be able to defend the innocent and fight evildoers. Eyedol was just another one of them, and he was about to kill the man she loved as a brother. She had already lost Thunder, who she loved like a father, she was not going to lose anyone else!

Orchid leapt to her feet. She saw one of her blades a short distance away, which luckily was in the path that led to Eyedol.

Orchid made a run for it, scooping up her blade as she ran. Eyedol raised his club. Jago laid broken and bleeding on the ground, no longer having the strength to fight. Eyedol's club came down.

"NOOOOO!"

Orchid tackled Eyedol as hard as she could while driver her blade into the warlord's side. Eyedol roared in pain and lost his balance. He fell over the edge, taking Orchid with him.

Jago saw them fall. He saw Orchid going over the edge. Using the last of his strength, he dove forward and grabbed her hand. He nearly went over himself, but managed to stay on top. His arm was nearly pulled out of its socket as he stopped Orchid from falling. Damn she was heavy. She shouldn't be this heavy. A moment later, he saw the problem. Eyedol was holding onto Orchid's leg. Jago was holding up both Orchid and the massive warlord.

"Great Tiger Spirit, give me strength." He prayed as the felt himself losing his grip.

He began sliding over the edge. There was no way he could stay on top with Eyedol pulling them both down.

"My sword!" he cried.

Jago's sword was moved by an unseen force. Jago risked letting go with one of his hands to grab the sword and stabbing downward, burying it into the arena floor. Using the sword to hold himself in place, Jago managed to prevent the three of them from falling.

Orchid's teeth were clenched together tightly as she tried to fight the pain from having Eyedol holding onto her leg. How much did the freak weigh? Way too much. She would lose her leg if this went on much longer.

Then she spotted it. Her blade buried in Eyedol's side. That would be her only chance. Closing her eyes, she concentrated.

"Oh mighty Tiger Spirit, lend me your power." She whispered.

She reached out with her free hand. The blade in Eyedol's side began vibrating, causing the evil warlord incredible pain as the laser blade burned and tore his insides. Suddenly it tore free and was in Orchid's hand.

"NO!" Eyedol bellowed. "WE WILL NOT DIE ALONE!"

"Wanna bet!" Orchid shouted.

She swung her blade. It cut straight through the hand holding onto her leg. Eyedol roared as he fell, down, down, down into his own river of lava. Dr. Chambers' cry of rage was drowned out by Eyedol howling in pain as he burned and melted.

"How can we lose?" he roared.

He felt his energy draining. He tried to regenerate, but his body was melting. As he burned, he suddenly received a strange vision that made no sense to him.

" _Billy…" said a woman. "Are you my long lost son Billy?"_

_Eyedol gave the woman a weird look. "Why would I be your s on?" he snarled. "My name is Eyedol!"_

" _My son was lost in a car crash…" the woman replied. "I gave him those bracelets for his birthday…"_

_Eyedol glared at the woman. Somehow… we don't think so." He snapped before crushing her with his club._

Eyedol snapped back to reality. He had no idea why this vision came to him during his last few moments of living. Using the last of his strength, he prepared one final attack.

"YOU ALL WILL DIE!" he shouted before sinking under the surface of hot magma.

Eyedol's power was unleashed.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Jago pulled Orchid up after Eyedol had fell. Once they were safely on what was left of the arena, Orchid kicked Eyedol's dismembered hand over the edge and collapsed. Both of them just laid there a few seconds, taking time to recover.

"You… ok?" Jago wheezed.

"No!" snapped Orchid. "My arm and shoulder are dislocated from Eyedol holding onto me!"

Jago smirked. She was fine. She was just blowing off some steam. Ok, so the situation could have been better, but they were both alive and Eyedol was gone. True it had been Orchid that defeated the mighty warlord, but at least the world was saved.

But what about them? Would Dr. Chambers allow them to leave since it technically wasn't Jago that finished off Eyedol?

He didn't have time to think about it as a blast of energy erupted from the place Eyedol had fell. There was so much evil in that blast that it could only have come from one being. He was trying to take them all with him to the afterlife.

A mighty wind picked up and everything started getting sucked down to where Eyedol had fell.

"Orchid we have to go!" Jago shouted. "Eyedol's trying to bring down Ultratech! We have to leave, NOW!"

Orchid sat up and gasped in pain from her arm. "Damn it!" she swore. "Give me a second."

She grabbed her dislocated arm and…  _Crack! Pop!_  She pushed her bone back into place, while crying out in pain. She repeated the process with her leg and then forced herself to her feet.

"Let's go!" she cried.

"Protect us, Tiger Spirit!" Jago prayed as Ultratech started coming down.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

"AFTER THEM! GET THEM!" Dr. Chambers shouted at his men. "I WANT THEM DEAD! KILL THEM!"

His employees wouldn't listen. They were busy trying to escape as the entire building started coming down. Dr. Chambers' eyes flashed with anger as he grabbed one of the guns a guard had dropped.

"FINE! I'LL DO IT MYSELF!" he yelled.

He aimed at Jago and Orchid, as they made a break for the exit. He was about to pull the trigger when the room suddenly seemed to jump. The gun went off, but it missed his target by several yards. The room jumped again before the entire top box fell from the ceiling. Dr. Chambers cried out as he fell with the top box to the arena floor.

Had anyone seen Ultratech's base from the outside, they would have seen what looked like a terrorist attack. Fires erupted and explosions went off as Ultratech's entire base imploded on itself.

It was over in a matter of minutes. Ultratech's base was nothing more than a pile of rubble, from which very few survivors came crawling out on their hands and knees. Those that had been near the exit to Ultratech's base just barely escaped. Alas, no others that were deeper in the base could have survived.

But no one besides Jago and Orchid had been protected by the Tiger Spirit. After several hours of moving aside rubble, the two surviving contestants made it to the outside. Each bloody and bruised, they fell to the ground, completely exhausted. Had it not been for Orchid's laser blades, which cut through most in their path, they would still be buried in the remains of Ultratech.

They collapsed to the ground and let the sweet relief of oblivion take them into the dark abyss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Eyedol is dead and Ultratech has collapsed. But the story is not over yet. There are still a few chapters remaining, and they're going to be full of action and surprises. There's still more to come, so stay tuned.)


	24. Truth and Betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: You thought it was over, but it's not. Now things really are going to get interesting.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 23: Truth and Betrayal**

_Click!_

"Get up."

Jago struggled to regain conscious. His head was spinning and his body ached all over, but at the sound of that harsh voice, he slowly opened his eyes. He was shocked, to say the least, to find a bloody beat up, yet alive, Dr. Chambers standing over him and Orchid, who too was regaining consciousness, with a gun.

"I said get up!" he ordered.

Orchid managed to wake up enough to notice what the situation was. "You?" she gasped. "You're alive."

Dr. Chambers glared at her. "So are the two of you, for now. On your feet!"

Slowly the two warriors stood up, neither one of them taking their eyes off the gun.

"How did you survive?" asked Jago.

Dr. Chambers growled, his eyes burning with hatred. "When the top box fell, I was still inside. Somehow I survived the fall. And lucky for me, the top box provided protection for me while the base collapsed. After I crawled my way out, I simple went through the path you cleared."

" _Damn,"_  thought Orchid.  _"I thought the bastard was dead. I had hoped that I wouldn't need to kill anyone else."_

"It's over." Said Jago. "We beat Eyedol. We won the tournament."

Dr. Chambers spat at Jago's feet. "To hell with the damn tournament!" he shouted. "I don't give a shit about that! I just wanted Eyedol! The tournament was just a way to test his power as well as weaken him enough to control him!"

"You couldn't have controlled him!" both Jago and Orchid shouted.

"Shut up!" Dr. Chambers snapped. "You underestimate me. And apparently, I underestimated you."

"Give it up." Said Orchid, trying to keep her voice calm. "My agents are on their way. They were coming today weather I won or not. They should be here soon."

An evil sadistic smile crept up over Dr. Chambers' face. "Then I better finish this before they do."

Everything seemed to slow down as Dr. Chambers pulled the trigger. The bullet slowly, from Jago's point of view, came flying out of the gun. His entire body seemed to freeze as he saw the small piece of metal flying towards him. Things seemed to slow down even more as the bullet got closer, until finally time itself seemed to stop.

"The hell?" gasped Dr. Chambers.

After his momentary shock, Jago realized that time hadn't stopped, the bullet did. It remained suspended in midair, not moving at all. Then it began to glow red hot before it exploded.

Orchid looked from the spot where the bullet had just been, over to Jago, who seemed just as surprised as her.

"Jago?" she asked.

Jago shook his head. "I can't do that."

In their surprise the two seemed to have momentarily forgotten about Dr. Chambers, who recovered from the shock before them.

"Your powers can't stop me!" he yelled as he open fired again. Each bullet only flew a few short feet before exploding just like the first. "What the hell is this?"

A cruel sadistic laughter was suddenly heard from all around, and an evil voice spoke.

" _Humans and their so called weapons of mass destruction."_  Said the voice.  _"They have no idea what true power is."_

Dr. Chambers' eyes darted around. "Who's there? Come out, damn you!"

The voice laughed again.  _"I am right here, above you."_  All three of them looked up to find a pair of yellow cat eyes engulfed in flames floating in the air. They were gazing at Dr. Chambers with an amused look.  _"And if you wish for me to come out, I will require your help."_

The flaming eyes suddenly flew at Dr. Chambers, who cried out and fired his gun until it was empty at the approaching entity. The flaming eyes slammed into Dr. Chambers' chest, vanishing into his body. The gun fell from his hand as his face twisted with agony.

"What is this?" he groaned, the pain eminent in his voice.

Both Jago and Orchid stepped back, neither one having the slightest idea as to what was happening.

Dr. Chambers turned beat red and his veins began popping up all over him. Slowly he was lifted into the air and his body began to smoke.

" _Does it hurt, Chambers?"_  the voice asked.  _"Good. You deserve it."_

Dr. Chambers skin began to blacken and burn as if he was burning up from the inside. Blood poured from his mouth as smoke exited from every opening in his body.

"STOP IT!" he cried.

The voice laughed.  _"As you wish."_

A large fist burst from Dr. Chambers' chest. He gave one last cry of pain before his body was reduced to ashes. But the giant fist remained in midair, and soon it was joined by another one. The two hands began ripping a hole through the sky, almost as if it were a movie screen being torn through. And behind that 'movie screen' was a bright light, so bright that Jago and Orchid had to cover their eyes.

The creature made the hole bigger and stepped out of the world of light into the world Jago and Orchid knew. Once it was free, the hole vanished, taking the world of light with it and leaving the giant monster behind.

"FREE!" the creature roared.

Hello Jago." The monster said, in a deep voice. "Hello Orchid."

Jago took on a defensive position. "Who are you? How do you know our names?" He looked at the pile of ashes that was once Dr. Chambers. "And why did you kill him?"

The monster laughed. "I would have thought that you would be grateful. Each of you wanted to kill him. I simple did you favor."

Jago's eyes narrowed. "But you enjoyed it. That's not justified killing."

The evil laughter filled the air again. "I can do whatever I want. Do you not know who I am?"

"Should I?"

Grinning, the monster said, "My name is Gargos. I am the second of the two great warlords, banished to Limbo many years ago. Sworn enemy of Eyedol, and future ruler of this world." His eyes lit up with a cruel amusement. "And I am the Tiger Spirit."

What? Did he hear right? Jago wasn't sure. Those last few words hit Jago with the force of Eyedol's club. This creature, this monster, was the Tiger Spirit? The one who he had worshiped and sworn to serve his whole life. It was the second warlord!

"No." he muttered. "No, you can't be. You… you can't."

Gargos ran his tongue over his fangs. "Why can't I? Is it so hard to believe? While trapped in the realm of Limbo, I decided to get others to do my work for me. Unlike Eyedol, who has two heads yet no brains," he laughed at his joke, "I don't rely on my power alone. So while he spent all his time trying to escape with brute force I carried on my work through others. And now, with him dead, I have all the power, and finally I was able to escape Limbo."

Jago took a few steps back. Disbelief was flowing through him. He just couldn't believe this. It was impossible. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't.

Gargos turned away from them and looked at the pile of rubble that was once Ultratech's main base. "Hmm, let's see how much of my powers I have regained." He said. Raising his hand, he focused on his power. "Where are you? Ah, there you are. Come to me!"

Gargos began glowing with an unholy yellow light. Pieces of rubble began rising from the remains of the base and floated over to the warlord. Bones and metal floated around him before they began to reattach themselves to give life to two new beings.

Or not so new. After the remains finished rebuilding themselves, two of the fallen Killer Instinct contestants stood before Gargos, very much alive. Spinal, regardless of having his skeleton body completely destroyed, was now very much alive, and, ironically, the one that had killed him, Fulgore, was now reassembled back together, but now he seemed more advanced, as if he had a received a major upgrade.

Spinal looked down at himself. He was alive. He had no idea how, but he was. Where was he anyway? And what the hell happened to that… building. These thoughts ran through his head before he noticed the massive warlord standing behind him.

"What the?" Spinal gasped. The next thing he noticed was a very advanced version of Fulgore, the one who had killed him. "You!" And Spinal had thought Fulgore looked strong before, but this new 'make over' made him look indestructible. Finally, his attention turned to Jago and Orchid. "Care to enlighten me as to what the hell is going on."

Before Jago or Orchid could reply, Gargos spoke up. "I have given you life again."

Spinal backed away and headed over towards Jago and Orchid. He didn't trust this monster, nor did he trust the new and definitely improved Fulgore, who had yet to show interest in the situation.

"I suppose I should be grateful." Spinal hissed. "But something tells me that you're bad news, and whatever reason you brought me back can't be good."

Gargos threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Ah yes, I forgot. Ultratech's scientists revived you without your memories. You're no use to me without them. I shall return them to you."

He held his hand out towards Spinal. The undead warrior gasped as red light surrounded his bony body. It faded a few seconds later, and when it did, Spinal remembered. He remembered everything.

"Spinal?" said Orchid as the living skeleton approached Gargos.

"My lord." Said Spinal, bowing.

Gargos grinned. "It's good to see you again, my friend. Although being dead has left you soulless and looking very much different."

"Yet now that I am dead, I can serve you for all eternity, as I wished all along." Spinal hissed.

"You're with him?"

Spinal turned to Orchid, who was looking at Spinal in disbelief. "With him? I was his top soldier before he was sealed away."

Gargos nodded. "Spinal was my right-hand man. He fought by my side all his life. Ultratech deliberately didn't give him his memories of his past because they knew that he would attempt to kill Eyedol."

Spinal growled. "Eyedol? He is here, my lord?"

"Not anymore." Gargos replied. "This lovely lady was kind enough to put him out of our misery. And Jago here did an excellent job of fighting him as well."

Spinal nodded in approval. Then he turned to Fulgore. "And what of him, my lord? He cannot be trusted. He works for Ultratech alone, and he was the one who killed me the second time."

"Indeed." Said Gargos, turning to Fulgore. "But he is our new ally. This is the new Fulgore MK. He obeys me now. Isn't that right, my friend?"

Fulgore nodded. "I exist to serve you, my lord."

Gargos smirked. "I know." He turned back to Orchid and Jago. "But what of you. There is a place in my ranks for the two of you. Jago, you have served me faithfully all your life. And Orchid, you personally killed Eyedol. The two of you could become top soldiers in my army."

"Go to Hell!" Orchid shouted. "I would never serve anyone like you. You're a cold hearted monster, no better than Eyedol."

"I'm with her!" Jago shouted. "I am shocked beyond belief that the so called god that I have been serving has been an evil warlord all along. Do the monks know of this?"

Gargos laughed. "The monks are my servants. You foolish boy. You thought that the ones that killed your family were Eyedol's followers. They were mine! Your family was sacrificed to me, and then you were raised by my disciples for one reason and one reason only, to kill Eyedol."

Jago suddenly felt like his heart had been ripped out. The monks that raised him were Gargos' followers? They had lied to him all his life? They had been the ones that had killed his family?

Cold fury filled him. He had come to love the monks that had raised him. He had come to love the Tiger Spirit that had always shown him the way. Now his whole world had been turned upside down.

"YOU BASTARD!" he shouted, unleashing all his sorrow and anger.

Gargos grinned, amused by Jago's emotional break down. "Your family would have merely been a distraction from you achieving your destiny." He closed his eyes and began laughing softly. "And ironically, it wasn't you that was victorious, but your last living relative was the one that defeated the being your were destined to destroy."

Jago glared at Gargos with pure hatred, but somewhere mixed in with his rage, he was able to comprehend what Gargos had said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded.

Gargos pointed at Orchid. "Her. The survivor of your family's slaughter. She was the one who defeated Eyedol. Your own sister."

Jago had thought that this day couldn't possibly hold more surprises, but he was wrong. Both his and Orchid's heads snapped towards each other, their surprised written on both of their faces.

"What?" Orchid whispered. Jago himself was speechless.

"Yes." Gargos growled. "She escaped when my monks attacked your home. She is your sister. I've known it all along. Even your scents are the same. And you both became fighters for the  _'greater good'._  Each of you trying to avenge your family's death. Like brother, like sister. And your paths have led you here, back to me."

Jago and Orchid continued to stare at each other. This was beyond ironic. No wonder they had gotten along like brother and sister, because they were.

"And now you know the truth." Gargos concluded. "Now the question is, where do the two of you go from here?"

The two siblings turned back to the giant warlord. "Isn't that obvious?" said Jago coldly. "We're going to kill you. Then we're going to make your monks pay for ruining our lives."

Gargos gave a snort of laughter. "So confident. But lets see if you are a match for my servants before you even attempt to face me. Spinal, Fulgore, tear them apart."

Spinal smiled. "With pleasure, master."

Fulgore raised his blades. "I live to serve."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Ha! Bet you didn't expect Gargos to appear. Oh, by the way, I didn't make any of this up. Gargos is the Tiger Spirit, and Jago and Orchid are brother and sister. This isn't a tournament any longer, it's an all out war!)


	25. Rematch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Here it is. The battle royal. It's an injured Jago and Orchid against a newly reborn Spinal and Fulgore. Will they be able to defeat their opponents, and if they do, can they beat Gargos? Let's find out.)
> 
> Disclaimer: Nothing new here.

**Chapter 24: Rematch**

This did not look good. Spinal and Fulgore were back and they were ready to fight. Jago and Orchid were worn out and injured. And if by some miracle they managed to beat them, they still had the great warlord Gargos to deal with.

" _One step at a time."_  Thought Jago.

"I'll take the tin can." Said Orchid. "You take bone boy."

They didn't seem to have much of a choice since Fulgore and Spinal were the ones deciding who to fight. Fulgore slashed out at Orchid with his blades. She landed on her feet, but a jolt of pain soared through her leg, which was not healed yet, regardless of the bone being back in placer.

But Orchid's pain didn't matter to Fulgore. He didn't understand pain in his previous form, and he certainly didn't understand it now. In fact, couldn't even feel pain, but his sensors did pick up Orchid slamming her elbow into his chest. It seemed to cause her more damage than him.

Fulgore punched forward and Orchid jumped back. As she did so, Fulgore fired lasers from his eyes. Orchid had to let herself fall to the ground in order to avoid getting hit. Fulgore's heavy metal foot stomped down. Orchid rolled away and attempted to trip him. No such luck. Fulgore was to heavy to trip and she only ended up hurting her leg.

" _Damn, I wish I had my blades."_  She thought furiously.

Jago was having his own problems with Spinal. He was still badly hurt from the beating Eyedol gave him, and he knew for a fact that the Tiger Spirit wouldn't help him. He was on his own. And to make matters worse, Spinal was equipped with a very powerful sword and a strong shield, which the skeleton just used to smash into Jago's face. Jago fell to the ground and Spinal went in for an aerial attack.

" _Endokuken!"_  Jago cried. The Tiger Sprit may not be supporting him anymore, but Jago could still perform the Tiger techniques.

Unfortunately, Spinal blocked the blast with his shield, but the attack knocked him off course and he landed a few feet away from Jago.

"Die!" Spinal cried, lunging for his opponent again.

That was a very likely possibility; at least while in his present condition. And looking over at Orchid, he saw that it would be likely that she would too.

Spinal swung his sword. It sliced through the air in a diagonal pattern towards Jago's torso. The young warrior tried to dodge, but wasn't fast enough. The sword sliced through his skin, from the top left of his chest to the bottom right of his stomach. Thankfully, the wound wasn't that deep, but it was enough to draw blood.

Wincing in pain, Jago put all his strength into a kick, which connected with Spinal's ribcage. Being so light, the skeleton went flying back. This gave Jago the opportunity he needed.

" _Our weapons!"_  he cried mentally.  _"Come to us!"_

Spinal was already on his feet again and charging at Jago. He swung his sword downward, ready to slice Jago in half. Something burst out from the collapsed Ultratech. Spinal didn't even notice as he focused on slaying the one who opposed his master.

Expecting his sword to come in contact with flesh and bone, Spinal was surprised when his word met with Jago's own sword. Growling in annoyance, Spinal attack with an even greater fury.

Orchid was doing rather… bad. Fulgore was strong before, but he was much stronger now, not to mention that Orchid wasn't in any condition to fight. She had way too many close calls with Fulgore's blades and wasn't looking forward to anymore.

Suddenly she thought she heard Jago's voice. It sounded like he was summoning something. A few seconds later, three familiar objects burst from the collapsed Ultratech. One of them was Jago's sword, which returned to his master just in time to block Spinal's attack. That meant that the other two objects were hers.

Fulgore lashed out with his blades as Orchid grabbed hold of her own. The laser blades came out and blocked Fulgore's attack, but just barely. Fulgore was strong as hell, and he was slowly forcing Orchid to the ground and her own blade closer and closer to her face. She could already feel the heat from them, and she would be damned if she let the metallic freak kill her with her own weapons.

Although she was in a kneeling position, Orchid managed to break away from Fulgore. White hot pain flashed across her face as her blood spilled. Fulgore's blade had cut her left cheek, making a rather deep cut at least an inch long.

Feeling the blood run down her cheek, Orchid glared at Fulgore. "I'm gonna be pissed if that scars!" she shouted, although that was the least of her problems.

Fulgore responded by firing lasers at her, and it was just blind luck that Orchid had decided to use her Lasaken. The two blasts collided and exploded. Orchid swore as she tried to see through the smoke. Fulgore, it seemed, had no trouble detecting her, as he launched forward on his rockets, connecting his heavy metal fist with Orchid's jaw.

Orchid was literally knocked off her feet, and flew through the air. That bastard damn near broke her jaw, and he wasn't anywhere near done yet. Fulgore stabbed downward, barely giving Orchid time to roll aside. His blades slammed into the ground, but before he had a chance to pull them out, Orchid swung her laser blades and cut straight through Fulgore's.

Fulgore, almost curiously, looked at his cut blade before attacking again. If he were capable of feeling anger, he would be furious right now, but he was only a machine.

Now that Jago had his sword back, he was doing much better. But Spinal was relentless. He was determine to kill Jago.

"No one defies my master and lives!" Spinal cried.

Jago blocked the attack. "I can't believe I felt sorry for you!" he shouted back.

Spinal locked his sword with Jago's. "You could have had everything. By joining with Lord Gargos, you could have had the world."

Spinal was slowly pushing Jago back, but the young warrior refused to quit. "I don't want the world. The world belongs to no one. Especially not that bastard."

If Spinal had eyes, they would have flashed with anger. "I'll kill you for that."

"You first." Jago unexpectedly pulled away, and Spinal stumbled forward.  _"Endokuken!"_

Spinal's ribcage exploded from Jago's attack. The undead warrior let out a ghostly wail and collapsed.

"Damn you!" he shouted, unable to get up again. "Damn you!"

Jago ignored him. Spinal was down for the count. Now his sister needed his help.

Even with one blade, Fulgore was tough. Orchid didn't back down though. She was not losing to some Radio Shack reject. But things were going from bad to worse for her. Fulgore was really tiring her out. She didn't know how much longer she could last.

"Orchid, duck!" Orchid recognized Jago's voice and did as she was told.  _"Endokuken!"_ Fulgore was hit by Jago's blast. He stumbled back several feet, his chest smoking.  _"Endokuken! Endokuken! Endokuken!"_

The attacks weren't that affective, but it gave Orchid the time she needed. Reverting to her fire cat form, she ran in between Fukgore's legs and took human form again behind him. She turned to face Fulgore's back and swung her blades outward. The lasers removed Fulgore's head in one swipe.

Fulgore froze. For a moment he continued to function, but then all systems shut down. All except one. Jago recognized the familiar beeping noise, and he knew what was coming.

"Run!" he cried.

Getting a much better head start than last time, both Jago and Orchid were able to avoid Fulgore's self-destruction. The explosion was much bigger than the last one, but the two siblings got away safely.

There was no time to celebrate, nor any time to rest. There was still Gargos left, and at the moment, he was dealing with Spinal for his failure.

"Master please." Spinal begged. "I've been your faithful servant."

"And you've failed." Gargos growled. "And I have no need for failures." His foot came down, crushing Spinal's skull, once again removing the undead warrior from existence. Then he turned his yellow cat eyes to Jago and Orchid. "And you're next."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: It's all coming down to this. Who will be victorious? Gargos or Jago and Orchid. I'm not telling. Ha! You'll just have to wait.)


	26. The Power of the Tiger Spirit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: I couldn't decide what to name this chapter. I was thinking of calling it 'Gargos Attacks' but I settled for this. Ah, whatever, the chapter itself is the main focal point. Enjoy.)
> 
> Disclaimer: See chapter one.

**Chapter 25: The Power of the Tiger Spirit**

For being so big and buff, Gargos was very fast. He spread his wings and took off like a rocket. Jago and Orchid were surprised by the warlord's speed. Two powerful fists made contact with them, one for each fighter, and brought them crashing to the ground.

Jago groaned from the pain in his gut, but something surprised him. Gargos' punch hurt, a lot, but Eyedol's attacks had been more powerful. Much more powerful. That's when he realized it.

" _He's weak from breaking out of Limbo. He's not up to his full power. We may have a chance."_

Yes, they may stand a chance, there was just one problem, neither Jago nor Orchid were at full power either. Better just make the best of a bad situation.

"I think we can take him." Jago muttered.

Orchid didn't reply. She merely grunted, but she stood up all the same, ready to fight.

Gargos doubled back, ready to dish out some more punishment. As he flew by his enemies, he delivered a kick to each of them. Neither Jago nor Orchid had been on their feet for longer than five seconds before they were knocked down again.

Gargos laughed. "Only those with wings were meant to fly!" he bragged.

Orchid glared at him. The warlord was very strong and fast, but those wings gave him an advantage greater than anything else. He could attack from the air, which posed a big problem to her and her brother.

Brother. Woah, that felt weird to say. For years, Orchid had thought that her family was dead, but they weren't. She still had her brother. And there was no way in hell she was going to lose her only family member to some over grown bat.

Gargos swooped down at them, laughing. Orchid, fueled by a desperate need to protect her  _little brother_  leapt up in the air and swung her laser blade. It slashed through Gargos' right wing, throwing the warlord off his path. As he passed by, Orchid turned in midair and slashed his other wing.

Gargos cried out and went crashing to the ground. Orchid landed a few feet away, looking very smug. Gargos roared and extended his wings, each one had a large slash straight through. They would heal, but just as Jago had suspected, he was still weak from breaking out of Limbo, and it would take longer for him to heal.

"Miserable bitch!" Gargos shouted. "I'll tear your damn head off!"

Jago went to stand by his only sibling. "No one threatens my sister.  _Endokukuen!"_

The blast headed for Gargos, but the warlord simply raised his hand and caught the attack. "Idiot, did you think you could use my powers against me?"

He through the attack back at Jago, and the young warrior suddenly knew how painful his Endokuken blast was. Was this what it was like every time someone was hit by his attack?

"Catch this!" Ochid shouted.  _"Lasaken!"_

This attack Gargos couldn't catch, and it did a decent amount of damage to him. After he recovered from his blast, he charged the two of them like an angry rhino. Orchid turned into her fire cat form and used its speed to dodge the charging warlord. Jago wasn't so lucky. He tried to move out of the way, but Gargos plowed straight through him.

Gargos turned to Orchid and observed her fire cat form with interest. "You've mastered my fire cat technique quite nicely. But you have yet to reach my level of power. Behold!"

Fire engulfed the warlord and he took on a knew form. The form of a giant lion made of fire. This was unexpected, at least to Orchid, but she supposed it made sense since the fire cat technique was Gargos' power.

The giant lion pounced on the smaller cat and caught her in his jaws. The flaming body, thankfully, protected Orchid's human form beneath it, but that did not make them experience of being crushed in Gargos' flaming teeth pleasant.

"Let her go!"

Jago, in a desperate attempt to save his sister, delivered a kick to the flaming lion's side. Big mistake. Jago jumped back, crying in pain as his foot burned. Still, he pulled off his goal. Gargos dropped Orchid, who reverted back to human form, and turned on Jago.

The young warrior back away as the fiery lion slowly approached. Then it pounced. Jago lost his balance and fell back. Gargos towered over him, baring his flaming fangs.

" _Lasaken!"_

Gargos cried out as Orchid's attack slammed into his side. First one then twice, then three more times before Gargos got fed up and went after her again. As he snapped at her, Orchid swung her laser blade upward, slashing Gargos' face from his chin up. The warlord cried out and jumped back, changing back to his demon form.

"Bitch! You'll pay!"

But before he could retaliate, Jago jumped onto the warlord's back and began stabbing into his back with his sword. Gargos cried out and jumped backwards, attending to land on his back and crushing his ex-follower. But Jago managed to jump off before he was crushed by Gargos' massive body.

As Gargos started to rise, Orchid ran past him, swinging her blade. It slashed the warlord across the face, leaving a large cut. The roar that erupted from Gargos' mouth shook the ground. He jumped to his feet and pounded his chest like an angry gorilla.

"I will not be made a fool by a couple of humans!"

He spread his wings, which were half healed, and began flapping them rapidly. At first only a small gust started up, but then the wind got more intense. Dust and rubble began flying around and the two siblings had to struggle to remain standing. But the wind got stronger the more Gargos flapped. It began to move in a circular motion and soon all the of them were trapped in a swirling vortex, only Gargos was laughing about it.

"Feel my power! Face my wrath! No one can conquer me!"

The tornado was complete and it swirled all around what was once Ultratech's base, sucking up the rubble and trees surrounding the fallen base. Jago and Orchid were tossed around like rag dolls. They were powerless against the warlord's mighty wind storm.

They took cover by grabbing onto the nearest tree that had not yet been sucked up by the swirling vortex, but from the looks of it, the tree wouldn't hold much longer.

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!" Orchid cried, having to shot to be heard over the howling wind.

Jago looked at Gargos, who was standing calmly in the center of the tornado flapping his wings. "NOT MUCH WE CAN DO!"

The tree began to move as the roots were ripped from the ground. Jago lost his grip and was sucked off the tree, but Orchid made a quick grab for his hand and held on tightly.

"IF WE DON'T STOP HIM SOON, WE'RE BOTH SCREWED!" she shouted.

Jago looked at Gargos again. He watched the rubble fly by him, coming close to hitting, but never doing so. That's when Jago got an idea. A stupid crazy one, but the only chance they had at the moment.

"ORCHID, WHEN I SAY SO, LET ME GO!"

Orchid looked at him as if he was crazy. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND?!"

The tree uprooted some more. There wasn't any time for this. "JUST TRUST ME!"

He turned to Gargos once more and watched the rubble swarm around him. He had to time this just right. If he didn't he could miss his opportunity and he wouldn't have another.

"OK SIS, GET READY!  _NOW!"_

Putting all her trust in him, Orchid let go and grabbed onto the tree again with both hands. She prayed Jago knew what he was doing and wouldn't get himself killed.

Jago was sucked into the vortex. And he was heading straight for Gargos. If he didn't do this right, well, best not to think about that. He needed to focus.

Jago took aim with his sword as he flew towards the warlord. "GO TO HELL, YOU BASTARD!"

Jago stabbed forward as he passed by, stabbing Gargos in his black heart. Gargos cried out as the sword was pushed all the way to the handle into his chest. Jago held on for dear life as Gargos was sucked into his own vortex.

Orchid didn't know what was happening. She had her eyes shut tightly as her grip on the tree began to loosen. She couldn't hold on much longer. Nit that it mattered since the tree was about to be ripped up.

But then, almost instantly, the wind began to die down. Orchid didn't notice at first, but when the angry wind finally became a light breeze, she opened her eyes again.

Gargos' storm was over. Trees and rubble were scattered everywhere, but there was no sign of the warlord or Jago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Ha, ha, cliff hanger. Sorry but I had to end it there. Is Jago dead, what about Gargos? More to come.)


	27. Final Assault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Well, this is it. The final chapter. I hope you like it, as it is the last.)
> 
> Disclaimer: For the last time, literally, I don't own Killer Instinct.

**Chapter 26: Final Assault**

"Jago!" Orchid called. "Jago, where are you?"

There was no sign of her brother or the demonic warlord. Gargos' storm had blown them both away. It was possible that they were buried somewhere under the rubble of Ultratech that had been picked up in the tornado and thrown around. She just hoped he survived. But if Gargos didn't survive, and she hoped to God he didn't, how could a mere human survive.

"Damn it, Jago, you can't die now! Where the hell are you?"

She pushed aside of what was once probable a power generator. Nothing under there. Damn it, at this rate even if Jago was alive, he would surely die before she found him.

" _I need a damn search party to find him."_  Orchid thought.  _"…or a sixth sense."_

Back when Jago had been training her to learn the ways of the Tiger Spirit, he had taught her how to sense peoples' life force. She was still a rookie at it, but what the hell.

Closing her eyes, Orchid tried to search for Jago. She sensed nothing. That could only mean two thing; either Jago was dead, or she was unable to concentrate out of worry. She desperately hoped it was the latter.

" _Jago, come on. Give me a sign."_

"… _Orchid…"_

Orchid's eyes snapped open. There, she sensed it. Jago's life force. He was still alive. And the signal was getting stronger as Jago rose out of unconsciousness.

She headed in the direction her senses pointed. It was rather far away. Gargos' storm had really taken him for a ride.

"Jago, where are you?"

"'ere!" came a muffled reply.

"Where?"

"O'er 'ere!"

"Give me a sign!"

" _En-o-u-en!"_

Jago's Endokuken attack blasted a pile of rubble aside and the young warrior rose, bloody and bruised, but thankfully alive.

"Jago!" Orchid cried in relief, running over to her brother.

Jago limped over to her. He was really hurting right now, but it was finally over. Gargos was dead and so was Eyedol.

Orchid was overjoyed at seeing her brother still alive, but then she saw something that made her freeze with fear. A large pile of rubble behind Jago was beginning to move as something erupted from underneath it. Large copper wings flew outward, sending pieces of metal and concrete flying everywhere.

"Jago look out!"

The young warrior turned around to see a large clawed hand coming down in a slashing motion. The look on the warlord's face was murderous and it made Jago's blood run cold. He was so shocked by his former master that his mind completely went blank. He only came back to reality as Orchid tackled him, knocking him out of the way of Gargos' attack. Red hot pain soared through his upper torso as Gargos' claws slashed at his arm, leaving five deep painful cuts.

"Damn you!" Gargos shouted, lashing out at the two siblings again. "I'll rip your damn heads off and use them as target practice!"

Orchid had to practically drag her brother away as Gargos went into a blood crazed frenzy. He wasn't even fighting anymore. He was just attacking wildly.

" _Endokuken!"_  Gargos bellowed, unleashing Jago's favorite attack.

Orchid dropped to the ground, bringing Jago with her to avoid the powerful blast. She threw her saber blades at Gargos, resulting in painful cuts and burns for the enraged warlord. Gargos roared and smacked the blades aside.

" _Great plan girl!"_  Orchid scolded herself.  _"Now what?"_ She looked to her brother who was leaning on her for support. "Any ideas?" she asked desperately.

"My sword…" Jago moaned, pointing at Gargos.

Orchid looked and saw the handle of Jago's sword sticking out of the warlord's chest. That must hurt, but Orchid thought that Gargos deserved all the pain he got.

"I'm on it." She said. "Can you stand?"

"I'll manage."

Trusting the young warrior, Orchid let her brother go and charged at the warlord. They needed to end this now. Jumping into the air, she turned into her fire cat form. Gargos opened his mouth and unleashed a blast of power. Orchid soared right over it and landed on the warlord's face and began scratching and biting. Gargos growled and ripped her off.

Reverting back to her human form, Orchid called out to her brother. "Jago now!"

Jago stumbled forward, keeping his eyes on the handle of his sword. He jumped in the air and put all his remaining strength into his next attack.

" _Endokuken!"_

His fist made contact with the end of his sword as the blast was unleashed. The sword buried deeper into the warlord's chest as the power of the attack pulsed through his body, tearing him apart from the inside. Jago could actually see the wave of the attack moving under Gargos' skin.

Gargos cried out as the energy escaped from his body, tearing right threw his flesh. His yellow eyes exploded as blood sprayed from different openings in his body.

Orchid dropped from his grip and rolled away as Gargos came crashing down. He remained motionless on the ground, twitching and moaning slightly.

Jago collapsed by the fallen warlord, completely drained of power. Gargos moaned as blood sprayed out from his mouth and various other places.

Orchid got up and approached the warlord. She mercilessly ripped Jago's sword from the beast's chest, earning her a painful growl. She handed the blood covered sword to her brother.

"You do the honors." She whispered.

Jago struggled to hold his head up. He saw the sword in her hand and heard what she said. But was he strong enough. Yes, he still had enough strength to do this.

Getting to his feet, Jago took the sword from his sister and walked over to the top of Gargos.

"This is for our family, you bastard." He told his former master.

He held the sword high and brought it down, removing the warlord of his head. Gargos' body shook momentarily before finally laying still, never moving again.

The sword fell from Jago's hand as he collapsed on the ground again. Orchid dropped down next to him, also completely drained. For a few moments, neither of them said anything, they were just thankful that the fighting was over.

"We should… burn… the body…" Jago muttered. "So no other… company like… Ultratech can… get it…"

Orchid nodded, but Jago didn't see since he had his eyes closed. "My agents can take care of that when they get here. I'm drained."

The two were quiet again. Neither had much energy left to do anything but keep breathing.

"When will they get here?" Jago asked.

"About two hours."

"Good. Then this is finally over."

Orchid nodded again. "So, what are you going to do now that you've faced your destiny?"

Jago hadn't thought about it, and right now he was too tired to. "Not sure. Guess I'll make my own destiny."

Orchid smiled. "Good. Mind if I give a suggestion?"

"By all means."

"Well, after I take a vacation, I'm planning on finding those bastard monks that sacrificed our family and sending the to Hell with there master."

Jago nodded. "Sounds good. I can show you where they hide."

"And then," Orchid continued, "if you want, I could get you a job at my company."

Jago's eyes snapped open. "Me? An agent?"

Orchid chuckled. "Why not? You'd make a great agent. And you could teach us you techniques and we can teach you ours."

Jago thought about it. Him, a secret agent, fighting along side his sister. "Sounds good to me. But like you said, I need a vacation. Something to take my mind off everything that's happened. I just want to forget t all. The killing, the betrayal, the psychotic doctor, the… oh God!"

Jago made a sick gagging noise.

"What?" asked Orchid in concern.

Jago sounded disgusted as he said, "Thinking back on the past months, I suddenly realized that my first kiss officially belongs to my sister."

Orchid's eyes widened and she made the same gagging noise that Jago made. "From now on, that's classified."

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Well, that's it, it's all over. It's kind of sad, I enjoyed writing this. I hope everyone enjoyed my story of Killer Instinct. I regret to say that I won't be making a sequel, sorry. Thank you everyone who read and supported me. Your reviews really mean a lot to me. Thank you all. You guys were great. I really appreciate it. So long everyone. Moviefan_92 signing out.)

**Author's Note:**

> (A/N: I know this whole thing is included in the Killer Instinct game manual, but I thought it was necessary to put in for the prologue. The actual story will be starting soon.)


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